FullMetal Episodes
by chorochoro
Summary: FMA in novel form. A written out story version of each episode. [Now up: Episode 15]
1. 1 Those Who Challenge the Sun

This is my first time writing a fanfic. Just a little something I did while I was bored at work one day. Nothing original, just a fleshed out version of episode 1.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist in any way. Most of the dialogue is based off A-Keep subtitles and my knowledge of Japanese.

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* * *

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_People cannot gain something without sacrificing something. _

_You must present something of equal value to gain something. _

_This is the basic principle of alchemy. _

_Equivalent Trade. _

_We believed this to be the truth of the world when we were young._

**1 Those Who Challenge the Sun**

_Alchemy is a process in which one understands matter, decomposes it, and then rebuilds. If used properly, it can turn plain lead into gold. However, alchemy is a science and is governed by the laws of nature. In order to create something of a certain mass you must present something of equal mass._

_1910 Resembool Village_

Two boys kneeled on the ground of the basement of their home. They had turned it into a laboratory of sorts with chemicals and flasks cluttering a table and books scattered on the floor. In the middle of the floor, a white circle and lines formed an intricate design. One boy was hunched over, a piece of chalk in his small hands, ignoring the long blond bangs that fell into his gold eyes. His red collared shirt over a black t-shirt and khaki shorts were faintly powdered with a thin film of chalk dust. Putting the finishing touches on his masterpiece he sat back on his heels.

"It's done. Al?" Ed called to his brother.

Al nodded nervously, putting aside his piece of chalk. The younger of the two by a year, Al had cropped light brown hair and gray eyes. Also wearing shorts, his blue-collared shirt was buttoned all the way down. Uneasiness stirred in his stomach and it must have reflected in his eyes.

"It'll be all right. It's perfect," Ed reassured his brother. "Let's do it."

The two boys placed their palms at the edges of the outer circle. Immediately, crackling light filled the room. The blonde boy grinned, confident in their work.

In a whirl of color, the swirl of bright white soon darkened to shooting bolts of red and purple. The electricity pressed in on the room's occupants, wrapping uneasy fingers of terror around their hearts. The whirrs of the transmutation couldn't mask the screams that ripped from their throats and resounded in the room.

Outside, a lone figure stood in the pouring rain, eyes fixated on the transmutation rebound light shooting from the house. He didn't flinch as lightning and thunder waged a war to rip open the sky.

Ed fell back to the floor, braced on one knee and the opposite arm. His fingers clutched his left thigh, his fingers stained red. Blood dripped from a stump that was once his left leg.

"Shit, it took my leg," he swore through gritted teeth. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this." Blood and sweat ran down his temples. Next to him, a pair a sneakers and a limp pile of clothes blurred in and out of his vision. "Al!" Adrenaline surged, blocking out the searing pain in his leg. He whipped his head around, searching for his brother.

He peered through the smoke in the room and could make out movement in the middle of the circle. "Mother?" he breathed, daring to hope.

The smoke cleared and Ed could see an upside down grotesque head sitting in the middle of the circle. Skinless, it was a mass of bone, blood, and unfinished muscle, tentacles waved around it like snakes. Ed threw his head back and his scream pierced through the rainy night.

_Perhaps this is a lesson. One cannot gain something without sacrificing something in return. This is the basic principle in alchemy: Equivalent Trade._

* * *

_1915_

The sun beat down mercilessly upon miles and miles of sand.

A lone figure trudged across the desert. "I'm hungry," he moaned. With a weary groan, the blond teenage boy collapsed into the burning sand face down, his long bangs brushing the ground. His brown suitcase landed a few inches away from his outstretched arms. The rest of his hair was gathered in a braid that lay between his shoulders. A red hooded cloak with a serpent's cross on the back spread out over him, covering the two layers of black clothes he wore beneath it. Black pants and thick black boots peeked out beneath the coat. His hands were covered by plain white gloves.

"If there were some grass around, I could turn it into bread and eat it." He muttered the complaint. Abruptly, the boy pushed himself up on his hands and knees, oblivious to the scorching sand beneath his palms and knees. "Al? Al?" he called, scanning the endless sea of yellow grains around him, searching for a sign of his companion.

"Down here." A weak voice reached his ears. A metal hand shot out of the sand and latched onto the boy's leg. Ed yelped in surprise. A voice rose up from beneath the sand. "Help me, Niisan" came the pitiful plea.

Ed's surprise gave way to irritation. "You sank again?"

Soon a panting Ed stood bracing his hands on his knees next to a giant suit of armor and a pile of sand as tall as he was. Towering a good two feet over the short blond boy, the armor wore a bluish-gray loincloth and had spikes around its shoulders and one on its forehead. "You do that again and I'm going to leave you here!" Ed threatened.

"But--" the armor protested.

"No buts!" Ed glared up at the armor and aimed a kick at its enormous chest plate.

With a clang, the chest plate fell off and Ed's angry yelp was drowned out as tons of sand poured out of Al's armor, burying the boy in another pile of sand.

"Al…" The warning drifted menacingly through the stifling hot, dry air. The armor shuffled away from the quivering lump, trying to put as much distance between himself and his brother. With a loud cry, Ed burst from the pile in an explosion of sand. "Wait, Al!" he yelled, dashing after his brother.

"No, I won't wait," Al shouted back.

Ed chased his brother in a large circle kicking up sand beneath his heavy black boots. "Then stop!" he hollered.

"I won't stop!" For a suit of metal, Al was surprisingly fast.

"Do one of them!"

"I can't choose," Al cried back on a wail, pumping his legs faster.

* * *

Al calmly clomped down the streets of Lior. He cast a concerned glance at his brother. Breathing heavily, Ed staggered alongside of Al, sand clinging to his clothing and hair. "Niisan, are you all right?" Al asked.

"This is all your fault for not stopping," Ed grumbled.

Al chuckled. "I don't think anyone would have stopped in those circumstances, even if you told them to," he pointed out reasonably.

Ed scowled at his brother. He was tired, hot, thirsty, hungry, and -- He stopped as the sound of running water reached his ears. "Water?" He perked up. Looking ahead, he spotted a large stone fountain. "Water!" he cried, almost weeping with joy. Flinging aside his suitcase, he sprinted to the fountain in the middle of the town square. He came to a halt at the fountain's edge. His frowning reflection rippled in the red liquid.

Al caught up to him as Ed used one of the cups hanging from the fountain's sides to scoop up some of its contents. "Blood?" Al murmured, staring at the liquid.

"No. It's red wine."

"So that's what we smelled," Al mused. Startled, he looked up to see his brother being lifted into the air.

"Hey," a scrawny man said, dangling Ed by his collar, "Children aren't allowed to drink from the fountain."

* * *

"Sorry, sorry." The man beamed at his newest customers. Edward sat across the counter of the small stand gratefully sipping a tall glass of lemonade. "Travelers like you wouldn't know that the fountain was wine."

A bunch of children ran by, screaming and laughing. Ed studied the man. Wearing clean, but worn clothes, he looked to be about forty. "Lior must be a wealthy city to have a fountain of red wine," he commented, taking another long sip.

"Yes," the man agreed. "And it's all thanks to the High Priest…" He stopped. "I almost forgot," he said, reaching up to flick on a switch.

Tinkling music filled the air. "Children of Lior, have faith and you shall be saved," the voice droned. Ed and Al looked around and saw all the citizens of the town sitting around radios, their head bowed in prayer.

Ed glanced around, confused. "What's this?"

"A religious broadcast?" Al peered into building windows and saw more people seated at their windows, bowing their heads over their radios.

The shopkeeper eyed the short boy and the hulking suit of armor sitting next to him. "You two are an odd pair. Are you street performers or something?" he inquired, placing his hands on his hips.

Ed spat out the liquid in his mouth. "What makes you say that, old man?" he demanded angrily.

The shop owner shrugged. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

Ed looked down his straw. "There's something we're looking for," he said simply. "What was that about?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Haven't you heard of the High Priest Cornello?" he asked.

Ed shook his head. "Who's that?"

"You don't know the representative of the Sun God, Leto?" an astonished man pressed in on him and Al.

Red crept up Ed's neck. "That's why I asked," he admitted sheepishly.

Another appeared on their other side. "His miracles saved this city."

"He's amazing."

"He made our abandoned city in the desert prosperous with his miracles!"

Ed rolled his eyes upwards and clamped his hands over his ears. "I'm not interested in religion," he said over the praises of the men. He turned to his brother and slid off his stool. "Al, let's go."

Al followed suit, but as he stood up, his head hit the concrete roof of the small stand. The whole structure rattled and the radio perched on the counter crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces. "Hey, mister," the shopkeeper yelled in dismay, "that's what happens when you wear that kind of clothes."

"Sorry," Al apologized sincerely.

"Don't worry," Ed reassured the shopkeeper. "I'll fix it."

The shopkeeper paused. "You'll fix it?" he echoed bewildered.

Al stepped toward the broken radio. "Niisan, I'll do it," he said, anxious to make reparations for his mistake. At Ed's nod of permission, he bent down and began drawing on the sun-baked ground with a piece of chalk.

"What's that?" The crowd stared at the curious geometric shapes now surrounding the radio pieces.

"It's a transmutation circle," Ed explained, leaning back against the counter.

"Okay, here I go," Al said, crossing his hands in front of him directly above the circle. Blue light crackled from his palms and with a flash the unbroken radio rematerialized in the circle, the High Priest's sermon emitting from the speaker. "…have faith, thy wishes will be answered…"

The crowd gaped at the fixed radio in astonishment. "It's a miracle," they gasped. "Just like High Priest Cornello."

"No, it's not."

Al stepped forward and returned the radio to the slack-jawed shopkeeper. "We're alchemists."

"Alchemy?" the townspeople murmured. "So it wasn't a miracle?"

Ed shot them a cocky grin. "The name 'Elric Brothers' are rather famous."

"The Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric," a lone woman swathed in a large brown cloak spoke up from her seat at the end of the counter. Ed's temper quieted. "You're quite famous around the East City area. He's rumored to be a genius alchemist."

"Ohh." The crowd pressed in on Al. "I see why they call you the Fullmetal Alchemist," they gushed, running their hands reverently over his armor.

"Uhh, it's not me." Embarrassed, Al waved his hands in front of him.

The crowd fell silent and turned to the scowling blond boy.

"You mean it's that small one over there?"

Used to having his brother mistaken for himself, Ed merely rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth. But at the man's comment, his hold on his explosively short temper slipped. "Who are you calling as small as a grain and doesn't show up in your eyes!" he demanded, his words almost incoherently garbled together.

He grabbed two men by the scruff of their shirt and began whirling them around. "We didn't say that!" they protested as the world spun wildly.

A teenage girl about Ed's age approached them, her arms wrapped around a brown bag of supplies. She wore a simple cream-colored dress. Her long brown hair ended midway down her back and long pink bangs framed either side of her pretty face. "My, its lively today," she observed mildly, a slight smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Ah, Rose," the shopkeeper greeted her warmly. The crowd turned to the newcomer and Ed shoved the two men to the side. "Did you finish buying the offerings?" The girl nodded. "Then maybe you can show these two to the church of Leto. They seem to be looking for something."

The girl's brown eyes took in the outraged boy and nearby suit of armor. The armor clasped his hands in front of himself and bowed. "I'm Alphonse Elric."

Ed dusted off his hands. "I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist," he clarified, pointing to himself, "the older brother, Edward Elric."

Rose blinked her brown eyes in surprise. "You're the older brother?" Ignoring a fuming Ed and embarrassed Al, she continued, "The church has a place travelers can spend the night."

Al began to protest, not wanting to impose. Ed, on the other hand, grinned at the prospect of a warm bed and food. After the long trek in the inhospitable desert, a roof over their heads sounded like pure bliss. "Let's take her up on her offer, Al."

Ed and Al followed Rose down the quaint streets of Lior. Ed shoved his hands into his pockets and frowned in thought. "Al, we've seen that woman at the shop somewhere before," Ed pondered aloud. Al grunted his agreement, but he couldn't place exactly where they had seen the woman in the brown cloak before either.

Rose's voice broke into their thoughts. "You'll be sure to find whatever it is you're looking for," she said over her shoulder. "Maybe Mr. Cornello will pray for you to get taller," teased Rose as she walked toward the chapel, the brothers trailing after her.

The crowd listened as Ed's angry protests began to fade as they got further away. "Rose has been looking happier, lately," one man observed. "Yep," another man agreed, "it's almost like she's a different person. And it's all thanks to the High Priest."

* * *

Cornello stood behind his desk, his broad frame silhouetted against the last of the sun's rays streaming through the window behind him. Rose stood in before him. "There are two travelers in town," she told him. "Is it okay for them to stay here?"

"That's fine, Rose." Cornello placed beefy hands on her slender shoulders. "You've been serving God daily, Rose. The Sun God, Leto has noticed your good deeds and hard work." Rose lifted her eyes to gaze hopefully into the High Priest's narrow eyes. "But be patient, Rose," he continued, "miracles need a little more time."

* * *

Ed stared outside his window from his room in the chapel. Rose stood in a cemetery, lying flowers on one of the graves. Al entered the room and walked over to his brother, his feet clanging softly with each step. "That's Rose's boyfriend's grave. She has no relatives, and her boyfriend died in a car accident a couple months ago," Al informed his brother.

Ed scoffed. "It's not like the dead can come back to life."

"A living person has an indestructible soul. Even after a person dies, it can be retrieved. The dead can be resurrected," Al quietly recited.

The brothers lapsed into silence. They both knew otherwise.

Later that day, Ed and Al stood in the back of a crowd gathered around the outside stage. The brothers watched as Cornello curved his hand over an upraised glass of water and the crowd ooh-ed as it turned into wine. The priest then placed his hand on a lump of wood. In a flash of light, a looming statue of Leto appeared in its place.

Ed turned to Al. "What do you think?"

"The light is definitely a transmutation reaction," Al confirmed.

"But the laws…"

"So what do you think of High Priest Cornello's miracles?" Rose approached them with a smile.

Ed didn't take his eyes off the stage, his piercing gold gaze critical and assessing. "It's definitely alchemy. He's a fraud."

Rose blinked. "But we're not completely sure," Al hurried to reassure Rose. "Also, he does ignore some laws."

Ed jumped off the suitcase he'd been standing on. "Alchemy cannot create something out of nothing. It is a scientific technique that has to abide the laws of nature."

Al continued the explanation. "To create something of a certain mass, you must present something of equal mass. That's why I couldn't turn the radio into a bigger radio, a piece of paper, or a tree."

"Then it _is_ a miracle," she insisted.

A young girl approached the stage, her pet bird cradled in her hands. Cornello placed his hands over the bird. A red ring on his hand flashed and the bird opened its eyes. The crowd collectively gasped as it flew out of the overjoyed girl's hands and into the air.

"Can you do that with alchemy?" Rose challenged. "And soon Kain will…"

Ed brushed past her. "We'll see."

* * *

Cornello sat behind his desk. "The Elric brothers are here," he said simply to the man standing on the other side of his desk. "I heard that the older one gained a State Alchemist qualification at the age of twelve. This means that the military has turned their eyes on our prosperous city." He placed his hands on the table. "I must protect my people and my village."

His accountant, Cray, nodded gravely. "I understand."

The door shut behind Cray and another figure emerged from the shadows. All that was visible was the curve of a shapely body and long raven-black hair that fell in waves down her back. "Thank you for warning us," Cornello thanked the woman.

"I'm not sure if that man will be able to handle those two," she warned softly.

Cornello smiled confidently. "Don't worry, I have a plan," he reassured her

"Mmm." The woman's teeth flashed in the dark shadows. "That's good."

* * *

Rose hummed softly as she polished the offering table in the church, two golden statues of Leto towering on either side of her, flames flickered from atop ten foot candles, throwing shadows around the room. "Do you really think that by serving this God the dead will come back to life?" Rose turned around at the voice to see Ed slouched in a pew in the second row.

"Of course, I live to serve God," she answered fiercely.

Ed heaved a sigh and pulled a small book out of his red coat. He flipped it open. "35 liters water, 25 kilograms carbon, 4 liters ammonia, 1.5 kilograms lime, 800 grams phosphorus, 250 grams salt…" he read. The small but thick brown book had little papers sticking out from all the pages. "100 grams saltpeter, 80 grams of sulfur, 7.5 grams fluorine, 5 grams iron, 3 grams silicon, and a little bit of other elements," Ed finished, closing the book with one hand.

Rose stared at him. Ed met her confused gaze. "Those are the known components of a single human adult. We already know that much with modern science, but no successful human transmutation has ever been reported." He smiled grimly. "For hundreds of years scientists have been researching, looking for the missing element," Ed continued, "but they still haven't found it." He leaned forward on his knees. "I think what they're doing is more useful than just praying and waiting."

"A human being can be made so cheaply, can't it?" he posed the rhetorical question. "Those ingredients can be bought with any child's pocket money."

Rose's lips tightened. "A person isn't a thing. What you're saying is blasphemy," she accused.

He stood up and put his hands in his pockets. Ed stepped out from the pew. "Alchemists are scientists," he told her. "We don't believe in such unsure things as God." He walked up the steps and looked up at the statute of Leto. "It's ironic, isn't it? We don't believe in God, but we're the closest ones closest to God."

Rose clenched her hands at her sides. "You are not God," she bit out through clenched teeth.

Ed didn't look away from the statue. "Neither is the sun," he pointed out. "It's just a big burning sphere." Rose inhaled sharply. "You get burned if you get too close to the sun," Ed said softly, referring to the legend of Icarus.

Outside the chapel door, Al crouched, eavesdropping on his brother and Rose's conversation. "Niisan's getting Rose mad," he groaned. A noise behind him drew his attention.

"Don't worry, your brother will soon be joining you," a voice said.

The gunshot echoed in the quiet room. Rose spun at the sound and saw Al's headless body fall into the aisle with a hollow thud. Cray walked in, his gun trained on Ed. "Cray!" Rose cried in alarm.

"Rose, get away from them," Cray warned. "They are enemies of God."

A hollow groan came from the doorway. Cray spun around, the barrel of the gun swiveling away from Ed. "Oh, that surprised me," Al moaned.

Cray stood there, slack-jawed as the headless armor got to his feet. Something plowed into his back and he fell face forward with an "oomph." "My head!" Al rushed forward to catch his flying helmet.

Ed gave a triumphant shout, fists on his hips, legs braced apart. "Strike!" he pronounced with a grin. A frightened gasp drew his attention back to the other occupant of the room.

Rose's eyes bulged and she clapped a hand over her mouth. "What's going on? H-he," she stammered, pointing a trembling finger at Al.

"Yes, this is how it is," Al calmly explained, leaning forward so Rose could see inside the hollow armor.

"There's nothing inside," she gasped.

Al placed his helmet back on. "This is what happens to those who venture in an area where humans are forbidden," he explained matter-of-factly. "My brother and I were punished."

Rose backed away, her eyes wide with disbelief and fear. With a cry, she ran out of the chapel, heedless of Ed calling her name. _It's true. The High Priest Cornello was right, _she thought as she ran down the stairs. _They really are enemies of God._

The brothers ran after Rose. They eventually ended up in a large room. Pillars were scattered around the gold and brown room, holding up the ceiling. At the front, two staircases led to a platform stage behind a short railing where two figures stood. "Rose!" Ed cried to the smaller one of the pair.

Cornello chuckled, laying a hand on Rose's trembling shoulder. "Good work bringing them here, Rose." He turned to his two guests. "Welcome, State Alchemist. I knew you'd come here eventually."

Ed bared his teeth in a mockery of a smile. "Because you deceive the people of the town with alchemy? There's only one explanation for bypassing the law of equivalent trade without a transmutation circle."

"You mean this?" Cornello held up his left hand. On his middle finger sat a ring with a blood red stone. "The Philosopher's Stone."

"Yes," Ed replied. "We've been looking for that." Ed held out his right hand. "I'll say this directly," he said, tossing his head, "If you give it to me now, I won't tell the people what you've been up to."

Cornello laughed at the boy's audacity. "And what would happen to the city if you took my miracles away?" he sneered at the ludicrous command.

Rose's breath hitched at the implications of what she just heard. "Rose, don't listen to him! He's just a third-rate swindler," Ed yelled.

"I came to this city racked with civil war and threatened them with destruction. I changed water to wine, gave people homes and even money," Cornello bragged. "To these people, I am God!" The priest's triumphant laugh bounced around the room. Would you take God away from this city? Are the orders of the military that absolute?"

"I don't care about the military," Ed asserted quietly. "I, we, need that!"

Rose finally found her voice. "Why?" she burst out. Ed and Al were taken aback by the vehemence in her agonized question. "Would you take away what little hope we have?" she sobbed.

Al stepped forward. "Rose, we--" he began anxiously.

Ed thrust his arm out in front of his brother. "It's useless," he said harshly. The brothers were uprooting the girl's entire life's beliefs.

The corners of Cornello's mouth twitched upwards. "Now, behold the power of the Philosopher's Stone!" He raised his hand and the red stone flashed.

At that instant the floor rippled and the once concrete floor transformed into sand. Ed leapt into the air. "Niisan!" Ed turned to see his brother swept away by the sand as he nimbly landed back on his feet. "Al."

Cornello laughed evilly. "Guess that armor's not so convenient, is it? You won't be able to draw a transmutation circle in that sand," he gloated. Discreetly he pressed a loose stone in the wall behind him. Rose spotted his movement and nervously backed away from the priest.

Ed noticed Rose's retreat, but his attention was drawn to a giant cage descending from the ceiling. A pair of glowing red eyes stared back at him from the room's shadows. "You synthesized animals with the Philosopher's Stone?" Ed asked mildly.

"Yes," Cornello crowed triumphantly. "It's a chimera!"

With a loud yowl, the creature lunged at the blond boy. Ed looked down at his feet, seemingly unconcerned about the deadly fangs rapidly approaching him. "This looks a little hard to handle with my bare hands," he mused. "So…" He clapped his hands together in front of his chest and slammed his palms to the ground. Blue light sparked from the ground and a spear rose up from the sand.

Cornello gasped. "He didn't need a transmutation circle?"

Ed grasped the spear with both hands and thrust it into the half lion, half reptile creature nearly on top of him. The chimera's limp body fell a good twenty feet away, sand blowing up where it landed.

Cornello clenched his jaw in frustration. He grabbed the tiny green bird perched on his shoulder and flung it into the air. "Go!" he commanded, enveloping it in red light.

Ed brandished the spear before the now giant bird. The bird easily snapped the spear in half with its claws. Ed stifled a cry as it talons closed around his left leg, yanking it into the air. Cornello heartily laughed. "How does that feel?"

The boy looked back up at him. "Not very good," he admitted. Cornello's laugh died in his throat as Ed ripped his leg from the bird's grasp. Ed balled his hand into a fist. "You're not getting away," he told the bird and drove his right hand into its face. The force of the blow had the bird crashing against the opposite wall.

"Ed!" Ed spun around at Rose's shout. His gold eyes widened as the fangs of the chimera glinted in the candlelight a few feet from his head. With a roar, the ferocious jaws clamped down on Ed. Cornello snickered over Rose's horrified gasps. Ed's small frame was nowhere to be seen. Then Cornello realized that the chimera was still standing on his hind reptile legs. He frowned, puzzled, then gasped in outrage.

"What's wrong, cat bastard?" Ed's voice drifted out from the other side of the chimera. The creature's jaws were gnawing on his right metal arm. "Do you want a better taste?" Slowly, he raised his arm parallel to the floor, taking the chimera with him. Rose's eyes widened further as he flung his arm out then planted a booted foot into the chimera's face in a solid kick.

From above on the rafters, a woman clad in black and a short, round man dressed in pitch-black watched the battle unfold. "Gluttony," the woman whispered, "that's the child." The chimera fell to the ground, unmoving.

Cornello sputtered in disbelief. "How can that be? A leg that couldn't be broken by those talons? An arm that couldn't be crushed by those fangs?" His small eyes widened. "It can't be…"

Ed stood alone on the floor of sand. "Yes," he confirmed. He gripped the remains of his red jacket and black jacket that hung in tatters. "Rose, look carefully," he instructed, ripping the fabric as he pulled it. "This is how God punishes sinners."

Rose took a step back and stared at what the boy revealed both hands clamped over her mouth. "A metal arm and leg?" She sucked in a breath. "Auto-mail?" _You get burned if you get too close to the sun. _Ed's voice resonated in her head.

Ed raised his metal right arm and clenched his fist in front of his face. "This is the consequences of trespassing on God's territory. Rose, are you prepared for the consequences?"

Al had made his way back to his brother's side. Candlelight flickered over their metal skin.

Cornello gazed the metal limbs and the suit of armor and cackled. "You fools! You encroached on God's territory and your body was taken to the other side!" Ed and Al stared at the walls of the room. Ed's gold eyes hardened, long ago having accepted their punishment. "I'd wondered how such a small brat like you got such a stern title. That's why he's called 'Fullmetal!'" he crowed. "The Fullmetal Alchemist!"

* * *

R & R please. If you like, I'll post more episodes. 


	2. 2 Body of Taboo

Thanks for the reviews. Glad you like it so far. I've seen all the episodes and the movie, but I try to keep the spoilers limited to the episode being written out. For Roy fans, sorry, you have to wait until episode 5.

Disclaimer: Don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. Most dialogue based off A-Keep fansubs and my own knowledge of Japanese.

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2 Body of Taboo **

"You fools tried to perform a human transmutation." Cornello looked down at a shell-shocked Rose. "Rose, there are two things that are forbidden in alchemy," he lectured. "One is changing substances to gold. The other is forbidden by tacit agreement. That is human transmutation."

"No! We just wanted--"

"Al!" Ed's sharp warning sliced through the air like the crack of a whip.

Al dropped his gaze to the sand. "We just wanted to see our mother's smile again," he said quietly.

Cornello laughed callously. "You fools tried to transmute your mother." The priest derisive tone grated on Ed's nerves.

"Yeah, I lost my arm and leg and my brother lost his entire body." Candlelight danced across the surface of their bodies, glinting off the metal. Ed turned his molten gold eyes on Rose. "Rose, this is what happens when you try to resurrect just one person with only two people!" he warned.

Rose stiffened as the priest placed his hands on her shoulders. "Don't worry, Rose. I'm not like those two. I have the ring that Leto gave me," he assured her.

"Don't give me that!" Ed yelled. "Rose, without that ring, he's nothing but a third-rate magician."

Cornello barked a short laugh. "So you want to Philosopher's Stone so you can try again?"

"No."

Cornello stopped laughing and raised a confused eyebrow at Ed's laconic answer. "Then why?"

"We just want to regain our normal bodies."

Al stretched out a hand, palm upraised. "We'll say it again, please hand over the Philosopher's Stone."

Cornello clasped his hands behind his back. A red light flashed and danced down his arm. "State Alchemist, God's wrath will fall on you," he cried, whipping an enormous machine gun from behind him.

Ed and Al yelped as Cornello let loose and the sound of gunshots and smoke filled the room. The smug grin fell from Cornello's face as the smoke cleared to reveal a bullet-ridden concrete wall. Ed leaned against the wall with one arm. "That was close," he panted.

"What's going on?" The brothers turned to see Cray and four other men filling the doorway they entered through, small pistols clutched in their hands. "You two!" he shouted, firing his gun at Al, the bullets ricocheting off his armor.

"Al, this way!" Ed grabbed Al and dashed to side of the room.

"Fools," Cornello boomed. "There's only one exit."

Ed and Al didn't pause in their mad dash. Ed clapped his hands in front of his chest. "If there isn't another exit," he said slamming his hands against the brick wall, "I'll make one." Blue light skittered up the wall and huge double doors materialized. Ed yanked open one side and he and Al ran through.

Leaving his men to tend to the escaping boys, Cornello turned to Rose. She looked back up at him, startled. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Rose."

* * *

Hours later, Cornello led Rose into a room. A huge bed dominated the middle of the room, layers of sheer white canopy flowed over the bed from the ceiling, effectively shielding the occupant of the bed. Rose could only make out a faint shadow of a figure. 

The shadowy figure swayed inside the curtains. "R-Ro s-se," a man's voice stumbled over the syllables.

Rose gasped happily. "Kain!"

"R-Rose," the voice said again.

"His body is not yet finished," Cornello explained, apologetically. Rose gazed blissfully at the bed, failing to notice the plethora of bird feathers littering the ground around it.

* * *

They came to a halt next to a stone statue of Leto. As Ed caught his breath, a voice boomed over the city's loudspeaker. 

"Citizens," the voice announced. "Today, two heretics tried to assassinate the Head Priest. Please stay off the streets and remain indoors. They are dangerous."

The woman and spherical man sat atop a rooftop watched as the crowd pressed in on Ed and the suit of armor standing next to him. Women and men brandished pitchforks and shovels having guessed the identity of the heretics. "He looks like such a cute kid," one woman mourned.

Ed scratched his head in frustration. "Look, people, the High Priest is a fake," he tried to explain. "He's fooling you with his miracles. They're just alchemy."

A murmur rippled through the crowd at the boy's confident words. "You lie." The strangled accusation came from the back of the throng of townspeople. The crowd parted to reveal a trembling Rose. "Last night, my boyfriend, Kain, came back to me," she said, not looking at the brothers, her voice quavering with unspoken emotion. Ed and Al started in disbelief.

"Congratulations Rose." Happy whispers spread throughout the crowd.

Ed took a step forward and opened his mouth to protest. Just then, light streaked over their heads and enveloped the stone statues of the sun god littering the pavilion. The crowd shrieked in alarm as the statues stepped off their short pedestals and stiffly strode towards the brothers. One came up behind Ed and swung his staff like a mace into the back of Ed's head.

Ed crumpled face first into the ground. He struggled to keep his eyes open as the sun gods pummeled his body with their stone feet. Through his closing eyes, he saw two other statues demolishing the armor that lay a few feet away with their staffs. Another blow struck Ed in the ribs and the world went black.

* * *

Ed blearily opened his eyes. A pair of black pants and shined shoes swam into his vision. Cornello smirked at the battered boy dangling between two of his henchmen. A flash of silver at the boy's wide brown belt caught his eye. Reaching down, he grabbed the round object, snapping the silver chain. 

"Hey!" Ed surged against the men holding his arms. "Give that back!" He glared daggers at the man who held the proof of his State Alchemist certification.

Cornello brought the watch up to his eyes. "So this is the silver clock of a State Alchemist," he mused, studying the intricate carvings. "I hear it amplifies the alchemist's powers." He laughed at the boy's lowered head. "So this is how you transmuted without drawing a circle."

Ed smiled at the man's presumptuous assumption; his long bangs formed a curtain around his face shielding it from the priest's view.

**

* * *

**

Ed stared up at his manacled hands and let out a frustrated groan. He couldn't do much sitting in this cold dungeon with his hands cuffed to the wall above him.

The heavy door creaked open and Rose shuffled in holding a sparse tray of food. She quietly approached him. Ed took in her sad, thoughtful expression. He plastered a cocky grin on his face. "With my hands tied up, I can't eat," he told her. "Will you feed me?" He opened his mouth wide.

Refusing to look at him, Rose hastily placed the tray on the ground a few feet from Ed. She was halfway to the door when Ed's voice stopped her. "Was he really your boyfriend?" he asked, all pretense gone from his serious tone.

Rose stiffened, but didn't turn around. Without a word, she opened the door and quickly exited. Ed sighed. Scooting forward as far as the handcuffs let him, he dragged the tray closer with his booted feet. Just as he realized that even if the tray was now near enough, he still couldn't pick up the food to eat, the sound of shoveling dirt reached his ears. Ed grinned. He loved his little brother.

* * *

Cornello tossed restlessly beneath the sheets of his king-size bed. Plagued by nightmares, his eyes shot open and he cried out as his nightmare materialized before him. A red serpent had slithered up the bed, its mouth wide open poised above his head, its deadly fangs gleaming in the moonlight. He shot up in bed, opening his eyes a second time, his breath coming in heavy pants. 

He squinted into the darkness. The woman sat in a chair at the foot of his bed, negligently leaning against the wall. "The Philosopher's Stone was supposed to be our little secret," she said, twirling a lock of black hair around a black-gloved finger. Beneath the black glove, her fingernails looked like sharp points.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of those brats," he reassured her, sweat running in rivulets down his back.

She sank back into the shadows. "You'd better."

* * *

Rose ducked into the room and silently shut the door behind her. She looked at the bed cloaked in white. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Kain. I know the High Priest said I'm not supposed to be in here, but I had to see you again," she apologized. 

"R-Rose," the voice warbled.

A hand fell on Rose's slender shoulder. She whirled around and met the eyes of the High Priest. "High Priest!" she exclaimed in a startled, hushed voice. "I know you…"

"I understand, Rose," Cornello smoothly cut off her explanation. "You wanted to see Kain."

With a soft rustle, the white curtains fell to the ground. A large bird chimera sat on the bed, its bulging, grotesque eyes at the top of its head, staring unseeingly at the ceiling. "R-Rose," it said in Kain's voice, hopping awkwardly to the floor, molting white feathers flying. Rose took a horrified step backwards, bile rising in her throat.

"I'm sorry, Rose, I couldn't bring back his body," Cornello apologized in a low voice. "Even with the power of the Philosopher's Stone, all I can do is sacrifice the lives of birds and transfer them into another body." He smiled. "But don't you like the chimera that sounds just like Kain?" With that, he exited the room, locking Rose in with the chimera.

Rose stood frozen in one spot. "R-Rose," the creature repeated, pushing its wings on the ground to propel itself forward. Unable to move, she shut her eyes as Kain closed in on her.

Instead of the attack she expected, Rose heard a sickening thud. She hesitantly opened her eyes. Cold air blew in through an open window, raising goosebumps on her skin. Al stood over the disgusting creature. He turned his eye lights on her. "It's dangerous here," he said to Rose. "Let's go."

Rose hesitated. She glanced at his outreached hand, then at the dying chimera, then back to Al. Wordlessly, she followed the suit of armor, disappearing into the night.

* * *

The sun's morning rays stretched over the quiet town. The bellboy yawned, sleepily grasping the thick rope to ring the bell. The tired boy yanked downwards. His eyes popped open, catching himself before he fell down the tower. He looked up into the gaping space where the town bell should have been.

* * *

The High Priest entered the dungeon with a smile on his face. Sitting on the cold floor, the bruised boy made a sorry picture. His red coat and black jacket were gone and his black shirt were torn and streaked liberally with dirt and blood. 

Annoyance was written across Ed's face. "Your fraud will go public soon."

Cornello stood over the boy. "The believers can't tell the difference between alchemy and miracles," he informed him with an evil grin. "No, alchemy and miracles are the same to them and it makes them happy."

"And how does this benefit you?"

* * *

Rose stood atop a flat rooftop and watched Al calmly twist wires together. Next to him, the town bell sat on a wooden stool, its wide mouth facing the town. A wire trailed from behind the bell to Al's hands, then off the roof. "You must sacrifice in order to gain something," Al said, placing the wires over a transmutation circle on the ground. 

"My brother is considered a genius, but he got to where he is through a lot of hard work." He put his hand to the outer rim of the circle and blue light flashed leaving a power box with an ON switch. "That's why he is the way he is."

"The two of you paid the price, didn't you?" Rose asked in a hoarse voice. "A body, an arm, a leg…" she trailed off. "What happened to your mother?"

Al paused, remaining hunched over his handiwork. He got to his feet. "It's going to start soon," he said, not looking back at the girl. He depressed the switch with a thick metal finger.

Rose covered her ears as a screech blared through the makeshift loudspeaker. She lowered her hands. "Ed?" Ed's voice echoed over the town.

* * *

"So you were after the money after all?" Ed questioned. 

"I can get as much money as I want through donations from my followers," Cornello scoffed. "What I want are believers who are willing to sacrifice their lives for me. They believe that I can resurrect the dead, so they don't fear death. Those people will become the ultimate army." Cornello's booming laugh bounced in the tiny dungeon. He turned his back to the manacled boy, holding his staff behind his back. "Watch," he instructed. "Soon, I will begin subjecting this country in a few years."

During his gloating tirade, Ed had lowered his hands to his lap. "I don't care about that," he said dismissively, biting into the roll of bread.

"What?"

"You can't revive anyone right?" Ed threw out the disinterested question.

Cornello raised an eyebrow at the boy's nonchalance. "Of course not. Even if you try to perform human transmutation, the result is unpredictable," he sneered, turning back around to face the boy. "Why should I make a risk for a believer?" The last word was forced through frozen lips. He stared blankly at the unrestrained boy.

Ed looked back up at him and grinned. He leaned to the side and pointed to the hole in the wall and microphone hidden behind his body.

Cornello's bellow of outrage echoed in every corner of the town. Coffee poured out of frozen coffeepots into overflowing coffee cups. Men, women, and children alike stood paralyzed at what they just heard. "How long has that mike been on?" Cornello's frantic voice demanded. "About since you came in," the young boy blithely replied.

The broadcast ended with a rapid flurry of gunshots. Cornello's chest heaved with exertion, his arm shaking as he pointed the smoking gun to where the young alchemist once sat. He turned at a noise behind him.

A sharp blade sliced through the many muzzles of the gun. Ed stood before the terrified priest, his auto-mail sword glinting menacingly in the single torch's flame.

With a cowardly yell, Cornello ran out of the dungeon and out of the chapel. As he emerged onto the giant platform, he was met with the angry gazes of the townspeople.

"Was it true, High Priest Cornello?" they demanded.

Cornello scrambled to regain his composure and plastered a serene smile on his face. "I don't know what that heretic told you disguising his voice as mine," he called out to the crowd, raising a hand.

"Cut the crap." Ed stepped onto the stage.

The priest shot a panicked look over his shoulder. Desperate, he cast sparks of red light over the many statues of the city. Stone Letos moved toward the stage at his command. The crowd shrank in on themselves at this "miracle." Feeling slightly more in control, Cornello turned a victorious grin on the young blond boy. "Without your watch, you can't do anything but transmute your auto-mail. The wrath of Sun God will descend upon you!"

Ed's eyes hardened. "Old man," he said loudly, thoroughly exasperated, "I'll show you the real wrath of God." He clapped his hands and placed his right hand on the concrete ground. A loud rumble eclipsed the murmurs of the crowd and the grinding of the stone statues. Cornello's eyes widened and the crowd gasped in wonder as a towering statue of Leto burst through the chapel's roof, shooting up into the sky.

Al stood in the back of the crowd with Rose. "The beating he took had little effect on my brother," he told her as she watched Ed in awe. "My brother is the Fullmetal Alchemist."

Cornello backed away from Ed's kneeling figure. "Impossible," he sputtered. "Even I can't do that _with_ the Philosopher's Stone." Ed's statue cast a dark shadow over the priest as it leaned over. Cornello cried out in fear and covered his head as Leto raised a fist and brought it down. The fist crashed into the pavement with an impressive boom.

Cornello summoned the courage to open his eyes. His eyes bugged out at the giant stone fist that was planted less than a foot from his trembling figure.

He spun around and ran. "I won't let you have it," he screamed at the boy. Ed shot to his feet, but before he could take a step, the ring on the priest's finger flashed. Cornello let out an agonized holler and sank to his knees as his arm turned into a hideous mass of flesh and metal. Ed sprinted up to the fallen priest who grasped his mutated arm. "A rebound?" Ed watched in disbelief as the red stone quivered in its setting then disintegrated into a million tiny pieces.

He dropped Cornello's arm. Looking at the ground, Ed clenched his teeth. "This is a joke, right?" He squeezed his eyes shut, his voice uncharacteristically high and strained. "You put us through all that for a fake?" He threw his head back to the heavens. "You've got to be kidding me!" he hollered, anger and frustration lacing each word.

* * *

Orange light from the setting sun streamed in though an open window. Cornello knelt before the two black-clad figures, clutching his mutilated arm. "The Philosopher's Stone was a fake?" 

The woman raked her gaze over him dispassionately. "Of course," she calmly replied. "We couldn't give you the real one. You were just bait."

The round boy-like figure removed his finger from his mouth. "Lust, can I eat him," he pleaded. Terror shot into Cornello's eyes. The grotesque figure waddled towards the priest with a hungry glint in his beady eyes.

* * *

Ed dangled his red cloak over his shoulder, his clothes cleaned, black jacket and white gloves back on. He glanced over at the suit of armor. "Sorry, Al," he sighed. "I thought this time I'd be able to get your body back." 

"Your arm and leg, too, Niisan," Al reminded him.

The State Alchemist stood up. "Well, shall we go?" he asked Al. A slight sniffling drew his attention. Rose stood at the edge of the town, her head bowed.

"Why did you have to go and do that?" she asked brokenly. "Why couldn't you have just left things the way they were?"

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Did you want us to let you live a lie?"

"What are we supposed to do now?" Rose lifted agonized eyes to Ed's. "What hope is left for us?"

Ed turned on his heel presenting her with his back, his shoulders rigidly set. "Stand up and walk," he said simply. "Your legs are fine. Move forward." Without looking back, he did so, walking out of the town with even strides.

Rose collapsed to her knees, her eyes following Ed's retreating figure. "Niisan is always like that." Al approached the tormented girl. "After all we've been through, he has to be," he explained. Rose lifted beseeching eyes to the kind suit of armor. Al began telling her the story of two brothers who dared to try the impossible and failed and their journey to recover what they had lost.

_To gain something, you must sacrifice something in return. This is the basic principle of alchemy: Equivalent Trade. We believed this was the truth of the world when we were young._

* * *

Gluttony ambled over to Lust on stubby legs, joining her at the window. Below, the crowd gazed at a tall man clad in priest's robes. "My citizens," he said gently, standing amongst the rubble, "what has that imposter done here while I've been away?" 

The gathered people murmured in relief. "High Priest, is it really you?" they begged.

The man smiled down on them, "Yes, I have returned." He lifted a hand and the dead birds littering the ground came back to life, taking flight into the orange sky.

Lust stared at the man. "Sorry, Envy," she whispered, "but you'll have to stay in that body for a while longer."

Along the setting horizon, tiny white birds burst into a little flashes of light, leaving nothing in their wake.

* * *

Good? Bad? Criticism or praise welcome. Onegai. 


	3. 3 Mom

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA and the dialogue is once again, based off A-Keep subtitles and my own knowledge of Japanese.

Thank you for the reviews. They make me so happy.

blurred3883 & Flower Kid : Sorry, in order to make it read more like a novel, I took the artistic liberty of adding in thoughts and embellished the scenery a bit. But I tried as much as possible to keep the story true to the anime episode.

Dark-Angels-Tears: Here's another episode for ya. Thanks for your encouragement.

* * *

**3 Mother**

_1905 Rizenbul Village_

A little girl stood against a wall holding a black puppy in her arms. She wore an orange flowered dress and her light blond hair went just past her chin. "Hey," she called to her playmates, annoyance plain in her voice, "you said you were going to give me a present."

The brown-haired boy looked up from the circle drawn on the ground in chalk. "Just a little longer," he promised, his gray eyes sparkling.

"We're going to make that present now," the other blond-haired boy told her.

The two boys picked up two bags and poured its gray contents into the middle of the circle. They exchanged glances. Simultaneously, the two boys placed their palms out the outer circle on the floor.

Winry's eyes widened as a bright light filled the room, swirling around the circle the boys had drawn. In the center of the array, the clay danced and swayed, slowly taking a human-like shape. Letting out a wail, the girl fell to her knees, burying her face in her hands. The puppy barked at the strange light.

Hearing their friend's frightened cries, Ed and Al removed their hands from the circle, abandoning their project. They ran over to the crying girl, trying to soothe her sobs. In the middle of the circle sat a perfect doll. It was their first transmutation.

* * *

The two brothers sat outside the house, leaning against the wall, wearing identical frowns. Six year-old Edward Elric's long blond bangs hung over his eyes and he stared at the tips of his sneakers. He wore a red shirt and blue shorts. His brother, younger by a year, Alphonse's shorter brown hair, light green shirt and brown shorts reflected their different personalities. From a young age, Ed had always been determined, stubborn, and protective of his calmer and more mild-tempered brother.

Inside, Winry sat at the Elrics' dining table, her parents standing behind her. Another woman sat at the head of the table, her long brown hair pulled over one shoulder and loosely tied. She nervously ran a hand down her lavender dress and a white apron. "I'm so sorry for what the boys did," she apologized.

"No, Trisha," the man reassured the boys' mother, "it was Winry's fault for overreacting." He laid a gentle hand on his daughter's bowed head.

An elderly woman walked into the dining room, her gray hair severely scraped back from her round face into a ponytail that stuck straight up in the air. A white apron was smoothed over her portly frame. "Those two are already excellent alchemists." She handed the doll to Trisha Elric.

The boys' mother turned it over in her hand and stared at the little doll, marveling at the frilly pink dress, blond curls, and permanent smile. "But they shouldn't know anything about alchemy," she breathed.

* * *

Trisha walked across the town bridge, an introduction to alchemy book clasped in her hand. She smiled down at the two boys skipping alongside her. "Did you learn alchemy from your father?"

Ed frowned slightly. "How can we learn something from someone who's never here?" he asked.

Trisha looked at the book in her hand. "Can you two boys understand all the difficult words in this book?"

"Somewhat," they answered together. Al turned guileless eyes up to his mother. "Is what we did bad?" he asked anxiously.

"No," Trisha assured the boys, smiling gently. "What you did is a very impressive thing. I can't wait to brag to everyone what bright boys I have." Her green eyes sparkled with pride.

Ed and Al grinned. They liked making their mother happy. This was the first time they'd seen her really smile since their dad left one day a couple years ago.

Back at the house, Trisha opened up her husband's study which had been previously off-limits to the boys. The brothers eagerly eyed the shelves of books lining the walls. "Be sure to thank your dad when he comes back and put everything back where you found it," she instructed.

"Okay," Ed and Al quickly agreed, running into the room.

"And don't open that closet." Trisha opened her mouth to issue another command, but instead put one hand over her eyes as an avalanche of books rained down upon the overly-anxious children. Ed and Al twitched underneath the pile of books.

* * *

The morning sun shone down upon the gently rolling hills of Rizenbul. The homes in the village were simple cottages with miles of grass and trees stretching between them. Trisha hummed contentedly to herself as she hung up laundry. She turned at the hurried pounding of her two boys running towards her. She smiled to herself. Those two never did anything halfway.

"Mom! Mom!" they yelled, stopping in front of her. "Look what we did." They held out their hands palm-up, proudly displaying two clay figures.

"Niisan made a horse," Al told his mother eagerly. Trisha made a show of examining the round torso, well-formed head and sturdy legs. Al continued, "But I could only made this." He slightly frowned at his lumpy horse. Its head was almost upside down and its legs stuck out at odd angles.

"That's incredible, you two," she praised her precocious sons. "You are truly his children."

The boys beamed back at their mother. "Do you think Dad will compliment us, too?" Al asked.

Trisha hesitated slightly. "Yes, he'll be sure to when he comes back."

Ed scowled at the sadness he saw creeping into his mother's eyes. "Who cares what he thinks," he muttered. "Come on, Al," he said to his brother. "Let's go show Winry." With that, the two boys dashed across the grass.

Ed sat on a grassy slope near the river bank. He placed his chin on his drawn up knees and wrapped his tiny arms around them. Al silently sat next to his brother, copying his position. "Niisan, do you hate Dad?"

The young boy's mutinous expression smoothed slightly. "No, not hate exactly," he finally said. "I just don't remember him. Whenever we talk about him, Mom makes a sad face. I hate that."

"Sorry." Al was too little when their father left and didn't remember him at all except for vague impressions of a blond man with large hands.

At his brother's soft apology, Ed reached out an arm and ruffled Al's hair. He sighed and got to his feet. "Let's go to Winry's place." Al nodded and the two headed over to their friend's house.

Ed and Al scampered up the Rockbells' stairs. They came to a halt in the open doorway. Winry sat at the dining room table, her head buried in her arms muffling her violent sobs. The two boys hesitantly entered the house. The little girl lifted her head and turned puffy and red-rimmed eyes on her friends. "Mom and Dad are dead," she told them, tears streaming down her face. She buried her head back in her arms.

The brothers stood frozen in place. "But I thought your parents were doctors."

"Yeah, that's why they had to go to the war in Ishbal," Winry managed between sobs.

They remembered the Rockbell doctors leaving a couple months ago. Al took a hesitant step forward and placed his clay animal on the table near Winry's elbow. "Winry, we understand how you feel," he tried to console her. "Our dad left, too."

Winry's head shot up. "It's not the same," she cried, flinging her arm out. Al's gift went flying and crashed on the floor. "They're dead! They're not coming back." Her blue eyes flooded again with fresh tears.

Ed quietly walked toward the table and bent down. He straightened up, the two animals cradled in his hands. "I read in a book about homunculus. It's a human with no soul," he said quietly, a thoughtful expression on his young face. "If we read some more, maybe we could…"

"That's forbidden." Pinako Rockbell's voice rang out in the room. "Alchemy isn't perfect," Winry's grandmother lectured. "That's why we auto-mail engineers exist."

The young boy clenched his jaw. He hated anyone telling him he couldn't do something. "Old hag," he pouted. A steady barrage of steel parts and pans chased the two boys out of the Rockbell home.

Ed and Al walked across the fields side by side in silence, their sneakers idly kicking up rocks and dirt. Ed spotted a figure at the top of the hill. Trisha stopped and waved at her sons. The blond boy lowered his head and sprinted towards his mother, Al following close behind. They threw themselves at their mother's legs, burying their faces into the lavender fabric of her skirt, hiding their tears.

Surprised, Trisha placed a slender hand on Ed's head. "What's the matter? Ed, you're a big boy. People are going to think this strange," she gently admonished. But she continued stroking his hair, soothing the boy's fears.

* * *

_1909_

The two boys ran across the fields up the hill leading to their house carrying baskets filled with vegetables and fruit. "Mom!" ten year-old Edward hollered.

"Niisan! Wait up!" Al called after his older brother. It wasn't fair. Being one year older, Ed had longer legs. But not by much.

Ed slowed to let his younger brother catch up. "Mom!" he yelled again, throwing the cottage door open. Their youthful faces were flushed from their run and the brisk air.

The boys paused in the doorway. The baskets clattered heedlessly to the wooden floor. Trisha lay sprawled on the floor, her sewing basket lying a few feet away. Ed and Al rushed up to their mother.

* * *

"This disease didn't develop overnight," the doctor confided to Pinako. "She must've endured the pain for many years."

Pinako nodded gravely and saw the doctor out. She turned back to the bed. Trisha Elric lay beneath the blue coverlet, deathly pale beneath the cool cloth one of the boys had placed on her forehead. Ed and Al hovered anxiously over their mother from their perches at the edge of chairs pulled up next to the bed.

Ed cursed himself. Why hadn't he realized it? He hadn't thought anything of Mom's frequent naps and how she used to sit down a lot. It just meant that he and Al had to help around the house more, but it was okay since it was helping Mom. They liked helping Mom. Ed traced his Mom's fragile features with his golden eyes. There wasn't anything he could do to help Mom now.

* * *

Ed slammed a tiny hand on the scattered pile of letters on his father's desk. "We have letters that were addressed to him here. If we write letters to all these people…"

"One of them might know where Dad is and tell him to come home," Al concluded.

Ed closed his eyes. "Not that I want that bastard to come back, but Mom…" Ed swore. He and Al stayed up late through the night composing letters telling their father of their mother's death.

* * *

Trisha reached out weakly to her sons. Two small hands grasped her pale, trembling one. "Dad left us some money," she said hoarsely. "I haven't used any of it." Her voice was thin and weak. The boys leaned forward, straining to hear what she was saying. "The two of you, use the money and cooperate and watch after each other." The brothers nodded fiercely, blinking furiously to hold back tears. Their mom had told them that they were big boys; big boys didn't cry.

The corners of Trisha's mouth turned upwards at their swift agreement. "Ed." She gazed at her eldest son. "Can you do me a favor?" Ed nodded again, gulping down a surge of hot tears. "Can you transmute a flower arrangement for me? A corsage?" Her eyes drifted closed. "He used to always make them for me," she whispered. Her hand went limp in the boys' grasp.

Comprehension dawned on Ed and Al. Even at death's door, their mother's last thoughts were of their father. The reason why alchemy made her so happy was because it reminded her of their father.

* * *

The day of the funeral came and Ed and Al's father didn't show up. Ed and Al didn't notice their father's absence. For as long as they could remember it had just been them and their mom. Now it was just them. Gray clouds gathered overhead as a small group of people gathered around a gravestone to pay their last respects to Trisha Elric. Slowly, the crowd dispersed and the people went home before the sun set. Two lone figures stayed at the grave site.

"Niisan, I'm getting cold," Al whimpered, looking up at his older brother from his seat on the ground, his arms wrapped protectively around his knees. "And I'm hungry."

Ed stood staring at his mother's grave, his black suit weighing heavily on his small frame. He ignored his brother's plea. Ed's eyes were dry. He had to be strong for his brother; he couldn't cry. "Al," he finally said, his gold eyes still fixated on the newly engraved stone, "let's revive Mom."

* * *

A few lamps chased away the darkness of the room. The two boys were studiously hunched over books on the floor of their father's study. Actually, in the past three years, it had become more their study.

"Look, here are his equations." Ed squinted at the faint scribbles. "I don't understand the details, but there's stuff about human transmutation. If I can just make out what it says…"

Al leaned over his brother's shoulder and scanned the text. His brow furrowed. "But it says here that human transmutation is forbidden."

Ed set his jaw at a mutinous angle. "Anyone would be glad to see a dead person come back to life. Everyone who's tried it has failed, so adult banned it out of spite," Ed confidently informed his brother. "If you, Mom, and I can live a happy life again, I'm sure Mom would love it to."

"Niisan?" Al's worried voice broke the room's stillness. "Maybe we should ask Dad first…"

"Mom died because of him," Ed ground out. He balled his fists on his thighs. "Mom has been waiting for him, but he didn't even come to the funeral." He stared blindly at the complex equations in the book. "If it was something that that jerk couldn't do, then I'll do it." Hatred and determination were etched on the young boy's features. "I'll do it," he promised.

* * *

_1910_

Ed put the finishing touches on the transmutation circle. "Al, ready?" He turned to his little brother, the piece of chalk still in his hand.

One year had passed since they had decided to bring their mother back to life. In that year, they had found a teacher and went away to relearn alchemy. Now they were back in Rizenbul in the basement of their home to make good on their self-promise.

Al nodded slowly. "Niisan, are you sure about this?" he asked hesitantly.

Giving his brother a confident nod, Ed answered, "It'll be all right. You want Mom back as much as I do."

Al followed his brother and together they dumped the bags of elements into a pile in the middle of the complex array. Al stared down dubiously at the inconspicuous pile. "We have the ingredients for the body, but what do we use for the soul?" he asked his brother anxiously.

"Give me your finger." Al obliged and Ed swept a pocket-knife blade over the tip. Blood welled from the cut. Ed did the same to his finger. They turned their fingers over and let the drops fall onto the pile. "A drop of blood for the soul."

The two boys placed their palms at the end of the outer circle. Immediately, crackling white light swirled up from the circle and filled the room. Ed and Al smiled in elation. But the tornado of bright white soon darkened to shooting bolts of red and purple. Bewildered, Ed looked around him. "Niisan!" Ed jumped at his brother's scream.

Black tentacles had latched onto Al's small frame, drawing him into the source of the light in the middle of the array. Purple light crackled and snapped around Al's disintegrating body. "Al," Ed screamed, reaching a hand out to his brother. Their hands missed each other by mere inches then Al was sucked completely into the blinding light. The room echoed with their screams mingled with the whirrs of the transmutation.

Outside, a lone figure stood in the pouring rain, staring at the transmutation rebound light shooting from the house. He didn't flinch as lightning and thunder waged a war to rip open the sky.

* * *

Al slowly regained consciousness. The suits of armor lining the walls of the room and their discarded books slowly came into focus. Al realized he was lying on his side and sat up. What happened? His body felt bigger, more unwieldy. He glanced down at himself and gasped. His body was completely made of metal.

Panicking, he scanned the smoky room for his brother. "Niisan?" A low groan answered him. Al scooted over to where the noise came from. Ed knelt on the ground, blood pouring through the fingers clutched over his right shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Al," he rasped weakly.

"Niisan, what happened to me?" Al's gaze darted from the stump of his brother's left leg to his missing right arm. "Your leg…your arm…" he whispered. He scooped his bleeding brother into his arms. He was so light. Al realized he was now a great deal larger than Ed.

Ed bit back a moan, nearly unconscious with pain. "With my arm, all I could do was attach your soul to some armor lying around here," he apologized.

"What about Mother?" Al asked apprehensively.

Ed clenched his eyes shut against the agony wracking his small body. He weakly gestured with his left hand. Al stared into the smoky mess. He gasped in horror at the wriggling mass he saw on the ground. "She wasn't human," Ed managed.

Al couldn't take his eyes off the grotesque lump that was supposed to be their mother. "What happened?" he repeated. "Your theory should have been perfect."

Wincing, Ed minutely shifted in the armor's arms. "The theory wasn't wrong," he confessed hoarsely. "We were."

* * *

Pinako heard the pounding knocks on her door over the deluge of rain. She opened the door and her pipe almost fell out her mouth at the scene before her. Rain poured off a giant suit of armor crouched in her doorway. In its arms lay an unconscious Edward, blood covering him from head to toe, his shirt and shorts torn and stained brown-red. The armor looked up at her, bright white lights where eyes should be. "Granny," it begged, "Niisan. Please save Niisan."

Winry stood frozen behind her grandmother. "Al?"

* * *

Al stood in the middle of the room, his head bowed. Ed lay in a nearby bed, his shoulder and leg bandaged. Against the white sheets, his young face still looked dangerously pale. Pinako paced in front of the suit of armor. "So you two finally returned from your training," she said disapprovingly, "and you decided to bring your mother back to life." She frowned fiercely Al, completely oblivious to the fact that she barely came up to his waist.

Al didn't answer.

The door opened. A raven-haired man stepped in, water streaming down his black coat that covered his blue military uniform. "I see. That was the light of a human transmutation. I've never seen such a strong transmutation response before." He removed his hat and closed the door softly. "Sorry for the intrusion," he said, flashing a silver watch.

"And what does a soldier want?" Pinako frowned around her pipe, dismissively noting the significance of the silver. "As you can see, these two are wounded."

Rainwater pooled at his feet. His black eyes scanned the room's occupants. They flickered briefly as they settled on the young blond girl then quickly passed over her to the elderly woman, bandaged boy, and finally rested on the armor. Standing upright, where empty eye holes should have been, a contained white light shone with a thin rim of red.

"I received this letter." He dug inside his coat pocket. He produced a letter addressed to a Mr. James Herbert.

"That's the letter we sent to all Father's acquaintances," Al exclaimed softly.

Mustang placed the envelope back into his coat. "We have also been looking for your father, Hohenheim, for some time," he told the talking suit of armor.

"Their father is still missing," Pinako interjected sharply. "We have injured people in here. Please leave," she commanded.

The man stepped over to the bed to gaze at Ed's sleeping face. "But if he's still alive after attempting a human transmutation, he is far more interesting to us than his father." He studied the young boy's features. "He has the potential to become a good state alchemist."

"He has done nothing." Pinako's angry voice cut in. "Go home. We're busy."

Roy calmly strode back to the door. "I am State Alchemist, Roy Mustang. Visit Central." He opened the door and stepped back out into the dark, rainy night.

* * *

Winry carried a bowl of water and cloth into Ed's room, her ponytail slightly swaying with each step. She set the bowl down on the nightstand and placed the wet cloth on the still sleeping boy's forehead. The young girl glanced at the enormous suit of armor sitting on the floor. She walked over and curiously examined it, tentatively tapping and patting the metal. Unable to resist, she lowered her tiny frame into the armor's lap, using his legs as armrests.

"Good morning, Winry," Al's hollow voice greeted.

Winry sprang up, furiously blushing. "Sorry, Al, I…"

Ed blearily opened his eyes and looked at what he had done to his little brother. The sweet, trusting little brother he had promised his mother he would protect. He closed his eyes again and fell back into blissful darkness.

* * *

Ed sat up on the bed as Aunty Pinako removed the bloody bandages, replacing them with fresh clean ones. "Granny Pinako," he finally said, his eyes studying the wooden floor. "There's money in the house that our Mom left us. Take it."

"Don't be foolish," Pinako interrupted him. "I don't want your money."

Ed shook his head. "No. I want you to take that money and equip me with auto-mail," he told her, his gold eyes set with determination. "I want to go to Central to see that Roy person," he continued. "He said I could become a good state alchemist. I remember our sensei telling us that the military gives them funds to conduct whatever research they want."

Pinako was taken aback. "You heard all that?" She pursed her lips together at the boy's mulish expression. "Did your sensei also tell you this? If a war breaks out, you will be called out to duty to use your talents to kill people," she warned the young boy. "My two sons were killed by State Alchemists."

Ed balled his one hand into a fist. "I'm going to take the exam. But to do that I need moving arms and legs," he resolved.

"Ed, you're not still thinking of…" Pinako trailed off. The thought of it was enough without having to voice it aloud.

* * *

Ed dug his teeth into his lower lip, biting back a scream of pain. His teeth drew blood as he writhed on the operating table. Al's metal head popped into the sterile room. "We're fine. Don't come in here!" Winry yelled. The armor paled and the door quickly shut behind him.

Tossing his head, Ed clenched his jaw against the next wave of pain. Winry's blond head was industriously bent over his left leg, her brow furrowed in concentration as she attached her finest piece of machinery to her friend. Pinako looked up and scratched her head. "Amazing," she breathed. "Most men would be screaming at the pain of attaching the nerves."

An agonized moan escaped from the boy's throat as Winry located another nerve end. "This pain," he bit out between his clenched teeth, "is nothing compared to his."

Al sat on the floor of the hallway right outside the door and helplessly listened to his brother's strangled cries of pain.

* * *

Al stood by the river practicing a series of punches and kicks. He paused in mid-motion as his brother approached. Ed's blond hair had grown long, so the boy had cinched it back in a short braid. He wore a white t-shirt, both hands tucked into pants pockets. From between the end of the shirt's sleeve and his wrist and below the pants leg, the metal of auto-mail gleamed in the mid-afternoon light.

It had taken long, painstaking months for Ed to get used to the feel of the auto-mail. Both brothers had spent endless hours relearning how much pressure to exert with their metal limbs.

"Let's do what we always used to do."

Ed looked up at his brother, a challenging glint lurking in his gold eyes. Those eyes had aged years in the months that had passed since that fateful night. "'To train the mind, you must train the body,'" he recited. "Our teacher said that, didn't she? But Al, can you do it with that body?"

Al took up a defensive stance. "I won't lose to an auto-mail," he vowed, bringing his hands up. Ed attacked and the two passed the next few hours sparring, getting used to their new bodies.

"Niisan, are you really serious about becoming a state alchemist?" Al questioned Ed, aiming another punch.

Swerving, Ed responded with a kick. "I don't know if I can become one or not," he admitted, "but I'm going to go see that Roy person in Central."

"Don't go."

Ed swiftly ducked another chop. "I've already made up my mind."

"Then I'll become one, too."

"You can't."

"Are you still planning on transmuting Mom?" Al inquired incredulously between jabs. "You said back then that we were wrong, so why?"

Al lunged forward to land another punch on his brother. Ed jumped out of the way and Al crashed into the hard-packed dirt. Al pushed himself up and looked up at his brother who had adroitly landed a few feet in front of him. He lumbered to his feet and straightened. "Then I'll become a State Alchemist and I will find how to return your arm and leg," he vowed.

"You don't have to worry about that," Ed returned firmly.

"But it was my fault!" he cried. "If I had disagreed with you, you wouldn't have lost your leg. And you even lost your arm binding my soul to this armor." He placed a hand on his hollow metal chest.

In a flash of movement, Ed jumped and captured Al's head between his ankles. Al flew into the pond with a splash. Ed nimbly landed on his feet at the water's edge. "And just tell me what you're going to do with that body?" Al sat motionless in the rippling water. "I'll find a way to return you to your normal body," Ed promised.

"Niisan, have you given up on Mom?" Al gazed at his brother in disbelief. Ed had been so determined to bring their mother back to life.

Ed's brow furrowed and he looked away. "There's probably nothing in this world equal to Mom's life," he admitted in a low voice. "But I don't want to lose you, too."

Al emerged from the water. "Then I'll go with you."

"Why?" Ed looked startled at his brother's proclamation.

"You always slack off when I'm not with you," Al accused.

Ed's face fell. "Is that what you think of your older brother?" he moaned pitifully.

"And also," Al quietly continued, "I never want to be separated from you again, Niisan."

Winry stood with Pinako and their dog, Den, at the top of the slope, watching the two brothers stand in silence as the water lapped at their feet. Winry's fingers tightened on Den's collar at the boys' resolution. Once again, they'd be leaving her behind. It seemed that everyone left her behind. First her parents, now Ed and Al.

"Maybe when they come back, they'll have matured," Pinako said gazing at the silhouettes of the not so young boys.

* * *

Ed gripped a suitcase in his right hand. He wore a black shirt, black pants, black zip-up jacket, and black boots. Over all of it, a red hooded cloak fluttered in the night wind. Embroidered on the back was a serpent's cross. The two brothers stood side by side in front of their home. Ed clutched the torch he held in his left hand. He could feel the heat of the flame singing his skin.

He swallowed hard and set his chin. They had made their decision. Even if they were only trying to regain their original bodies, they were still seeking the secrets of forbidden human transmutation. If they failed, the might disappear from the face of the earth for good. Or maybe something even more severe than that.

Ed's fingers tightened on the torch then he tossed it into the kindling he and Al had placed at the base of the house. The fire immediately caught, the tall flames dancing, casting shadows on the brother's faces.

The flames quickly devoured the house. Wood collapsed and glass windows shattered. But the boys didn't see any of it. Their backs were already turned, their past firmly behind them. Without a backwards glance, they walked away from the blazing inferno down the path they had chosen.

* * *

More reviews please! Not to be pathetic and beg, but please…. 


	4. 5 Dash Automail

Sorry, I skipped episode 4. I never really liked it and I didn't think there was anything that important in it. Just Ed and Al dealing with yet another deranged alchemist. So onto episode 5.

Disclaimer: Same as before. I do not own FMA, etc.

**

* * *

5 Dash! Auto-Mail**

Ed stood nervously at the train station; his knuckles under his gloves were white on the telephone receiver. "How may I connect you?" A female operator's voice drifted through the receiver.

"Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang, please," the nervous boy stammered.

"Hold please."

Ed heard the phone click on the other end. "Roy Mustang."

Ed tightened his grip on the tiny receiver until he thought it would break. "This are Edward Elric," he managed, snapping to attention.

Roy chuckled. "'This are?'" he repeated, amusement evident in his tone. "There's no need to be nervous."

"We're arriving on the 9:20 train."

"All right," Roy agreed. He paused as his Second Lieutenant's brisk strides stopped at his desk and she handed him a piece of paper. His slitted black eyes quickly scanned the missive. "Wait. Is there a train leaving now?"

On the other side of the line, the train whistle blew. "Yes, but it's leaving now."

"Get on it." The phone clicked.

Ed jumped at the abrupt order and stared at the dead receiver in his hand. The whistle blew again and the thud and chug of the train wheels could be heard as they started to turn. Ed yelled over his shoulder to where Al stood by a bakery stand. "Al, let's go!"

Al quickly paid the lady for the bag of buns and sprinted after his brother.

Second Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye eyed her commanding officer. She stood at ease in her pressed blue military uniform, her light blond hair cropped short like a boy's. Mustang propped his elbows up on his desk on either side of the train schedule. "I'm going to test his luck."

* * *

Ed munched happily on the buns. "I don't know about this Lieutenant Colonel Mustang," he confided to Al around a mouthful of bread.

Al didn't seem to be paying any attention. Instead, the suit of armor raised his hand and tentatively waved. Confused, Ed turned around to see who Al was waving at. A small brown head disappeared behind Ed's seat. Al's face fell.

"Mom, there's a weird person over there." A little girl's insistent voice carried over from the next seat.

"Weird?" Al echoed miserably. Ed glowered and stood up and turned around to defend his little brother. He was met with the speculative gazes of the other passengers. He turned beet-red. "We're not suspicious or anything," he said, waving his hands in front of him. Embarrassed, he sank back down to his seat. A sound behind him caused him to turn back around.

The little girl was peering over the seat at Al. She appeared to be about five years old with shoulder-length brown hair. She caught their gaze and waved with a small giggle.

Ed smiled. "See, she likes you."

The little girl happily nodded. The light streamed in from the window and the girl's eyes were drawn to the glint of light on the teenager's arm.

Ed followed her curious gaze to his right arm. His jacket sleeve didn't quite meet the edge of his glove and the auto-mail peeked out from under it. The idea of covering it back up flitted through Ed's mind. Instead, he grinned up at the girl and pushed his sleeve up to show his whole metal forearm. "Cool, isn't it?"

The girl's eyes sparkled as she nodded her agreement. "Now, Marin, don't bother them," her mother gently reprimanded. The woman smiled at the two boys and drew her daughter back to her side.

* * *

A gray-haired general relaxed in his private car watching the scenery speed by the open window. Instead of his military uniform, he wore a brown suit minus the jacket. Next to him, an officer clad in the blue military uniform sat alert. The man smiled at his wife who sat across of him on the padded seat. Their two children, a boy and girl, lay sleeping in her lap. Pearls glinted on her fingers, wrist, and ears. "Looks like they tired themselves out from moving around so much," the man observed.

"Yeah," the bodyguard agreed. "I'm glad the vacation ended safely, General."

"I heard it wasn't very safe in the East, but it wasn't that dangerous," the general agreed. The two officers exchanged a laugh.

Outside, two men stood guard at the door. "Good grief. The higher-ups are so easy going," one man lamented. "By the way, where's Major Hughes?"

The younger soldier snapped to attention. "Sir! He's currently contacting Lieutenant Colonel Mustang about that case."

The man sighed. Warrant Officer Vato Farman wore civilian clothes, khaki slacks and a brown sports jacket. His severe features were blunt and his sharp eyes were incredibly tiny. He walked up to a round window in one of the doors.

Inside the cramped radio room, a black-haired man leaned back in the rolling chair. He wore black slacks and a long-sleeved purple collared shirt. "My wife has gotten more beautiful since she got pregnant," he gushed into the phone. "How can I say this? She's like an angel descended down to earth." His black eyes glazed over with happiness behind his rectangular glasses.

At Central Headquarters, Lieutenant Colonel Mustang hung up the phone.

Hughes shook the phone. "It cut me off again," he frowned. "The line is so unstable now. What a bummer."

Farman peered in through the window. "You're the bummer!" he shouted at his now sulking boss. Hughes was a good man, and an intelligent one at that, but when it came to his family… He heaved a sigh. "I need to go on patrol again to feel safe.

Inside, Maes picked up another phone and dialed a number "Hello? What should I do if the baby is born tomorrow?" he worried.

On the other end of the phone, Mustang impatiently drummed his white gloved fingers on his polished wood desk. "Hughes. I heard that story about fifty times now," he said irritably. "If you're going to talk to me about that, call your wife."

Maes Hughes pushed the rolling chair back against a console. "I already did," he replied with a grin.

Roy lifted a white-gloved hand and snapped. Sparks flew from his fingertips. "Then don't ask me," he bit out.

The phone clicked. Puzzled, Mustang looked up to see his blond lieutenant pick up the extension. "Excuse my rudeness," Hawkeye apologized. "But, Major, let me give you a piece of advice. A baby will not be born in five months!"

The train sped under a tunnel. Hughes frowned at the dead receiver. "Damn this connection. What's with this phone?"

* * *

Farman silently walked through the train's cars. He paused at the entrance of the one the Elrics were in. His small eyes widened at the armor that towered above the train seats. He dashed back to the connecting room.

"You can stop now, Hughes." Mustang had re-established the connection to the train. "It's confirmed. There's no taps on this line. Are there any suspicious people on board?"

Hughes leaned back in his chair, all seriousness. "None," he informed Mustang, "but there are more passengers than expected."

The other phone rang. "Hold on," Hughes told Mustang, picking up the other receiver.

"I found a suspicious person!" Farman's frantic voice burst through the phone.

Hughes' eyes sharpened. "Where?"

"In the front car. A big guy wearing armor!"

Laughter drifted through the first receiver. Frowning slightly, Hughes' deftly juggled the two receivers. "Don't worry about that guy," Mustang assured them. "Is there a small boy with him?"

Farman rushed up to the seat where the armor sat. In the seat across of him, a short blond-haired boy lay comfortably in the three-person seat bench. "He really is tiny," he breathed.

Ed's ears instinctively picked up on any variations of the word 'small' or 'short.' 'Tiny' definitely counted as one of those words. "Who are you calling tiny as a grain of rice that you can't see him!" he yelled.

Farman backed away. "Sorry, I though you were--" He stopped at the sound of guns cocking. In a swift motion, he unholstered his gun only to be met with two other barrels. Two men in muted gray suits stood, guns trained on the passengers. Sunlight glinted on their black sunglasses. Their expensive Italian-made loafers had made no sound as they walked over from their seats at the back of the car. Outnumbered and cautious of the passengers' safety, Farman gritted his teeth. One man reached over and confiscated his gun then rammed him in the mid-section with the butt of it. The gray-haired man collapsed to the ground.

"Hands up!" the hijackers yelled.

* * *

Hakuro smiled at his children. "They sleep like angels," he observed. The clatter of gunshots erupted outside the car door. The soldier sitting next to the general leapt to his feet. He barely had pulled out his gun when the door opened and bullets riddled his slender frame. He fell to the seat in a pool of blood. The children screamed and held their mom tighter.

The armed men in the door moved aside and a tall, dark-skinned man walked in. His right eye was covered by a black eye-patch. His sparse black haired trailed down his back in a thin ponytail. "Hello, Major General Hakuro."

The commotion of gunshots reached the radio room. "Hughes, what's going on over there?" Mustang demanded.

Hughes covered the earpiece and surreptitiously replaced the receiver.

Two men threw open the door to the communications car and peered into the room. "There's no one here," they reported. "The radio room's empty." They didn't notice the open window in the corner of the room.

Mustang hung up the dead receiver and stared at the phone. Hawkeye stood at the right of his desk, her arms crossed over a pile of paperwork. "Is it them?" It was more of a statement than a question. The morning sunrays played across her delicate features.

The object of their attention rang again, its shrill ring piercing the room's stillness. Roy answered it.

"Major General Hakuro on train to Central has a message for Central Command. It's an emergency," the operator informed him.

"Connect him."

"It's me. Is that you, Mustang?" Hakuro bent over the phone, trying to shut out the wails of his sobbing and terrified children. Bald yanked the phone out of his hand. "Mustang?" he barked into the phone.

"This is Lieutenant Colonel Mustang," Roy answered calmly.

"This is Bald from the Blue Brigade, the frontline frontiers for East liberation. I am now in control of this train."

"What are your demands?"

Bald was enraged at the unruffled response. "Don't be stupid. Today communication with one of our members suddenly ceased. It was someone who was supposed to send you a statement."

"What are you talking about?"

"Very well." Bald gritted his teeth at the infuriating man. "Bring our leader in the Eighth Prison to Central Station. We will exchange him for hostages for him."

"All right," Mustang answered the demands. "But in exchange, do not kill anyone. Otherwise…" His stipulation was cut short by the click of the receiver at the other end.

Hawkeye glanced at the papers in her hand. "Was that okay? We have the statement right here. If the general finds out we will be held responsible," she reminded her superior officer composedly.

A mysterious smile crossed Mustang's lips. "Don't worry," he assured his Second Lieutenant. "We just have to settle this incident. I've already taken the necessary steps."

Bald glowered at the phone. "What is that Mustang guy thinking?" he muttered. He whirled on the general. "If he screws up, consider yourself and all the passengers dead."

* * *

The two men methodically made their way down the car, checking passengers for weapons. One of the men spotted the giant suit of armor. Silently gesturing to his partner, they both made their way to the brothers, one gun trained on each of the boys. They stopped in front of Ed and Al, not quite sure what to do.

"Behind you!" Ed shouted the warning. The men swiveled around. Ed punched the first guy in the jaw while Al took out his partner. Both men collapsed in the aisle way.

One man's hand twitched on his gun. Marin saw the movement and whimpered. The man lifted his head and aimed the gun at the little girl. Terrified, she buried her face in her mom's suit. The man pulled the trigger just as Al's metal foot stomped on his back, shoving him back down to the floor. The shot went wild. Ed confiscated both men's guns.

"Are you all right?" he asked the girl, his voice laced with concern. Marin looked up from her mom's tight embrace and tearfully nodded. Ed shot a relieved grin at Al.

"Now what are you gonna do?" a man whispered.

"Yeah, before you resisted, we had a chance of getting back safely, but now…" another passenger chimed in. Worried whispers rippled through the car. Like always, Al turned to his big brother for an answer.

Another sound reached the boys' ears. The man who had approached them earlier wriggled his way out from a seat a few feet away. He was bound and gagged. Ed ran over and untied him. "Sorry," the man apologized for his mistake. "I'm Warrant Officer Farman." He gave a self-conscious chuckle at the boy's surprised silence. "I know I don't look like it like this. Who are you guys?"

Ed worked at the knots that bound the officer's hands behind his back. "We're alchemists," he answered. "What is the military doing on this train?"

"Alchemists," Farman repeated. "Well, you see, in the back car…"

Ed straightened at the story. He turned to his brother. "Al, you go with this guy to the back car. I'll go from up top." Al nodded and Farman smiled, grateful for the help.

* * *

A harried man opened the door to the general's car. "Bald, communications with the rear car have ceased and the men are screaming about a big armored guy," he announced. Bald scowled at this news.

Hakuro lifted his head. "Give it up," he said. "See…" A bullet slammed into the wood behind the Major General's head. With a cry, Hakuro clamped a hand to his ear. The room filled with his children's sobs and his wife's worried exclamations.

Bald lowered the gun. "Mustang better not be trying something funny, or else consider yourself dead." He turned to the man in the doorway. "Check the whole train again," he ordered. "Check the top as well."

* * *

Ed swung his slender frame up onto the top of the train. The train was now traveling over water. The wind whipped at his black clothes and long hair. Holding out his arms for balance, he carefully made his way down the cars. He looked up just in time to see a hanging tree branch closing in on him. The impact knocked him off his feet and he tumbled over the edge of the train with a yelp.

He flailed his arms as he fell through the air. His fall was stopped abruptly by a purple-clad arm. Ed opened his eyes to look at his rescuer. A black-haired man with glasses gripped the rails on the side of the train with one hand. The other arm effortlessly cradled the eleven-year old boy.

"You must be Edward Elric," the man said with a grin. "Lieutenant Colonel Mustang told me about you," he explained over the rushing wind at Ed's stricken expression. "I'm Major Maes Hughes. Now cooperate with me."

The two of them made their way to the engine room. From his perch at the top of the car, Ed leaned over and peered into the window. Two armed men stood over two burly train workers shoveling coal into the furnace. One wore a green shirt and the other wore a white shirt streaked with dirt and sweat. Ed made a face at their backs. Feeling someone's eyes on him, one man turned to the now empty window. Green Shirt followed his partner's confused gaze.

Taking advantage of the distracted men, Hughes swung in from the window on the opposite side and thrust a short dagger with serrated edges into the hand of the green-shirted man closest to him. The other man swiveled away from the window at his cry. Ed shot through his window and delivered a kick to White Shirt's jaw. The men groaned from their positions on the floor. They looked up to glare at their attackers, but the two train workers plowed their beefy fists into their faces rendering them unconscious.

The engine room back under control, Ed returned to the top of the train while Hughes followed his progress from inside the car. A man's head popped up on top of the train. "Hey!" he yelled when he spotted Ed. Grabbing his machine gun, he fired off a round at the boy. Ed quickly retreated off the top, clinging to the side of the train. Using a piece of chalk, Ed scribbled a transmutation circle on the side of the train.

The man paused as blue light glowed from where the boy had disappeared. His eyes widened as a canon materialized. The boy jumped back up to the top of the train. Ed grinned as he let loose the cannon ball. The man let out a strangled yell as he fell back into the train.

Hughes observed the whole episode from a window. He smiled at the boy's resourcefulness. Suddenly, he was shoved aside by the conductor. "Hey! Be careful. The tender is the train's life!" he shouted.

"Sorry!" Ed yelled back. He paused. "The tender?" An idea hit him and a devious smile lit his face.

* * *

The hijackers were in a frantic panic as calls came in across the train and they lost men. A blue light enveloped the car door. They stared in awe as a loudspeaker emerged from the ceiling. "Testing…" a boy's voice blared out. "To all you bad guys, how dare you threaten these passengers!" Murmurs erupted through the hijackers at the speaker's nerve and the unexplainable phenomenon in front of them.

"Quiet!" Ed ordered over the loudspeaker.

Blue light skittered over the area beneath the speaker. The door was transmuted into a large, gaping water pipe. "Passengers, take cover," Ed warned. With that, water rushed through the pipe and flooded the hallway, sweeping up all the men and their weapons. The rear door opened and the men collapsed against the metal railing gasping for breath. The door swung shut. The men dared to look up. A hulking figure towered over them.

Al clanged his fists together. "Welcome."

Bald stepped out into the narrow hallway at the muffled sounds of the beating of his men wafting in from behind the door. Another door slid open. "Give it up, it's over." Hughes pulled one of his signature daggers from his sleeve and threw it at the hijacker leader.

Bald raised his left arm to shield his face. The dagger bounced harmlessly off the purple cape. Hughes' eyes widened in surprise then slammed the car door shut. Bullets riddled the shut door.

Bald laughed. "Come on out," he beckoned. Smoke drifted up from beneath his purple cape where his left hand should be. On the other side of the door, Hughes' gritted his teeth and pressed his palm against the wound on his shoulder. "Before I kill the general, I'll take care of you first."

Bald took a step towards the door but was stopped by a loud yell. A young boy landed in the hallway in front of him. The blue sky was visible through the hole left in the roof. Bald whirled. He stopped the boy's attack with two hands.

Ed braced his feet apart in the hallway, straining against the older and much larger man. Their eyes assessed and measured each other, caught hand for hand. Ed registered the clang of steel against his right auto-mail palm. He glanced at the left hand pushing against his right. "An auto-mail buddy?" Bald's left forearm was a thick auto-mail cylinder. Where the fingers should have been, the auto-mail rounded off and left a hole in the center for bullets to shoot out.

Bald's single eye flickered in surprise at the boy's apparent lack of age and auto-mail right hand. "Since when did the military start using kids?"

Ed's young muscles flexed beneath his black jacket. "Sorry for being a kid," he bit out, "but I'm not being used."

The older man gave an empty laugh. "Let me tell you something, kid. I used to be in the military, too. When I was there, I wanted to equip myself with something better. But the military didn't like that. They feared the fact that I would become stronger. After I received the surgery to get this, they threw me away. And that's why I want to destroy the military." He stared straight into the boy's eyes. "You have an auto-mail, too. You must've wanted the same thing I wanted: to be stronger than everyone else."

Why was it that everyone he met was a deranged alchemist? Was it too much to ask for an uneventful trip to Central? He had enough problems on his hands with the mysterious Lieutenant Colonel as it was. Ed was insulted at the older man's observation. Winry probably would have torn a strip off him with her wrench if she had been here.

"I don't understand at all." He closed his fingers over the auto-mail buddy. "Don't compare my arm to your piece of shit." He dug his steel fingers into the flimsy metal and crushed the cylinder, sending nuts and bolts flying.

Momentarily shocked, Bald stared speechlessly at his ruined arm then at the young boy. He staggered back. A large hand on his shoulder stopped his retreat. Bald spun around and a metal fist plowed into his jaw. He crumpled to the hallway floor. Al turned to his brother and gave a thumbs-up. Ed grinned and returned the gesture with his right hand.

Hughes leaned tiredly against the doorframe, having witnessed the scene, and grinned as well. He picked up his small dagger from where it had fallen on the ground. "Really, that was quite nice."

* * *

Bald sat in a disheveled heap at the Central train station. He and his men sat on the platform bound with yards of rope. To the side, a large gathering of military soldiers directed the evacuation of the train. Hughes was amongst this group, now clad in the blue uniform. The train's passengers safely departed the station to the sides of the platform, giving the criminals a wide berth. Another smaller group of blue military uniforms approached. At the front was Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang. He stopped before the hijacker's leader.

Mustang smirked. "'Don't harm any of the passengers,' I said. Looks like you did as I asked, even if you didn't mean to," he observed mildly.

Bald glowered at the young, black-haired officer. He was one of the youngest there, in his mid-twenties. A blade flicked out of his still semi-functioning auto-mail. With a deft twist of his elbow, it sliced through the ropes binding him. With a sly grin, Bald let out a cry and lunged at the unarmed Lieutenant Colonel.

Standing behind Mustang, Hawkeye and Havoc made no move to fire at their superior officer's attacker. Mustang raked a disinterested glance over the enraged hijacker. He placidly lifted a white-gloved hand and snapped his fingers. Immediately, hot flames engulfed the man in mid-air. The man's hoarse cry echoed throughout the station and the flames drew many an astounded eye including those of the Elric brothers.

Within seconds, the flames disappeared, leaving a blackened Bald on his knees. Mustang walked up to the crisp man, his boots softly clapping on the platform. "I went easy on you. Those burns shouldn't be as bad as they look," he shrugged. Still addressing the stunned hijacker, he introduced himself in a loud, clear voice. "I am Roy Mustang. Rank: Lieutenant Colonel. I am the Flame Alchemist."

Sufficiently recovered from witnessing flames arise in mid-air from the Lieutenant Colonel's fingers, Ed's eyes flashed at the officer's self-introduction. He ran past the high-ranked officials and came to a halt ten feet away from the Lieutenant Colonel. His red cloak fluttered and his chest heaved from the exhaustion of the day and his anger.

"You're Lieutenant Colonel Mustang?" he demanded. "You put us on this train knowing about this?"

Roy turned to the short, blond boy. "We didn't know all the details," he said simply. Ed glowered at the older alchemist. He hated being manipulated. Mustang flashed his teeth in a smile. "But congratulations. The General is giving you special permission to take the exam."

Ed stared at him slack-jawed. "But you're the one who told us to come here," he finally stammered.

"We can't let children take such an important exam," Mustang scoffed. He leaned down into the boy's face. "Now aren't you glad I made you get on this train?" Straightening, Mustang walked off the platform, flanked by both his blond lieutenants. "Of course, it's up to you whether or not to take it."

Ed opened and closed his mouth a few times. His gold eyes sparked with annoyance. He whirled. "We'll take that exam, just you see!" he yelled at Mustang's retreating back, oblivious to the amused and doubtful gazes of the military brass. Hughes smiled at the headstrong boy. Life at Central was about to become very interesting.

Al came up beside his brother. "We played right into his hands, didn't we?" Ed scowled at Al's statement.

"Oniisantachi," a little girl's voice called out. Confused, Ed and Al turned in the direction of the voice. M­arin stood behind the black railing, waving at them. "Thank you!" she yelled at them. "Thank you!"

Ed and Al grinned, the Lieutenant Colonel forgotten for the moment, and waved back. There would be time later to worry about the exam.

* * *

Review pls. Thanks for reading. 


	5. 6 State Alchemist Qualification Exam

This has to be one of my favorite episodes.

Disclaimer: Same as always.

* * *

**6 The State Alchemist Qualification Exam**

Ed and Al sat before Lieutenant Colonel Mustang's desk in Central Headquarters. Mustang eyed the young boy. "So did you decide to take the test?" he inquired mildly.

Ed leveled his eyes at the Lieutenant Colonel. "Yes. Shall I wag my tail while I'm at it?" he quipped.

Mustang ignored the boy's sarcasm. It was clearly obvious the armor was the more cool-headed and rational of the pair. "Very well," he agreed. "We will have you study in the most appropriate environment." He slid a clipboard across the desk.

Ed accepted the clipboard. He read the briefing document. "The Sewing Life Alchemist," he read aloud, lifting a questioning gaze to the man on the other side of the desk.

"Shou Tucker. He is the foremost expert in bio-alchemy."

* * *

The black car rolled to a stop in front of the Tuckers' residence. Swiftly, Lieutenant Colonel Mustang stepped out of the vehicle, his polished black military books making little sound as he silently strode to the front door. Ed and Al followed suit, only to stop and gawk at the mansion home.

"It's huge," Ed breathed, standing in the middle of the paved driveway. He gaped at the sprawling two-story mansion. On either side of him was an expanse of green lawn, surrounded by neatly clipped hedges.

Mustang turned around, his pitch black hair falling into his eyes. "You two! Are you going to stay there?" An annoyed frown came to his thin lips.

At the Colonel's sharp bark, the brothers snapped out of their reverie and hurried forward, Al's metal feet clunking against the pavement. As they approached the door, they heard a scampering and a loud woof. Ed turned to his left toward the sound. A large shadow fell over the short blond boy, soon followed by a hundred-fifty pounds of dog. Ed's muffled yelp was all that could be heard as he collapsed to the ground.

Al watched his brother with a mixture of amusement and concern. Amusement won out, and he suppressed a giggle at the picture dog and boy made. Pinned unceremoniously to the ground, Ed blew his long bangs out of his eyes, unable to glare at his surprise tackler who was presently panting happily.

It was to this laughable scene the front door opened to reveal a middle-aged man with close cut brown hair and a four-year old girl with long braided pigtails. The little girl frowned at the dog. "Bad, Alexander," she scolded.

Ed, still pinned to the walkway, looked up. "Are you Tucker?"

* * *

The three were ushered into the house. As they walked, Tucker bent down, picking up books and rubbish on the ground. "I'm sorry the house is so messy," he apologized. "But after my wife left, there was no one to clean the house."

Al nodded understandingly. He heard a soft "Ohhhh," and turned to see the little girl tugging on his left hand. Neatly dressed in a blue dress, stockings, and Mary Jane shoes, she looked up at him with enormous blue eyes.

"Big brother has weird clothes. Aren't they heavy?" Nina asked wide eyed.

Al smiled as best a metal suit of armor could and answered, "It's all right, since I'm strong."

As the brothers were occupied with his naturally curious daughter, Tucker took the opportunity to examine his new houseguests. The shorter one, but apparently the older of the brothers, was clad in all black, shirt, jacket, pants, except for a red hooded coat with a serpent's alchemical cross on the back and white gloves. His dark blond hair was long and pulled back into a braid.

The armor that was currently the center of his daughter's fascination towered over his brother. Its large chest-plate sloped outward as it approached his neck and conical spikes circled his shoulders. A bluish-gray loincloth hung off the metal hips. Tucker watched amazed as emotions seemed to flicker across the metal surface of the face and the holes for his eyes seemed to glow.

Al felt Tucker's perusal and looked up to see the alchemist looking at him strangely. Alarmed, he straightened up.

"We'll have time later to talk about them," Mustang said brusquely.

Tucker turned to his daughter. "Nina, go play outside." At his daughter's plaintive whine, he added, "Alexander is lonely."

At the thought of her beloved dog's unhappiness, Nina's eyes darkened to a deep shade of blue. She dropped her new friend's hand. Then she looked back up at Al, and cheerfully promising to see him later, ran off to find her beloved dog, pigtails trailing behind her.

Watching Nina leave, Ed turned his attention to the Sewing Life Alchemist. "Tucker, can we see the chimera you made? The one that spoke human words?" Ed inquired, always eager to learn more, to take the next step towards their goal.

"Me, too," Al added earnestly.

Behind his glasses, Tucker's eyes flickered with surprise. Then rubbing his hand against the back of his neck, he admitted, "That thing died a couple weeks after I made it."

Ed's and Al's shoulders both dropped in disappointment.

"These two need a place to study for the exam," Mustang told Tucker, interrupting the silence.

Tucker looked over at the young, blond boy. "So young…"

Ed bristled at the implication, but let it slide. After all, he was a guest in the house.

Mustang made his farewells then strode out of the house to meet Havoc at the waiting car. Ed and Al put their luggage in the guest room and Ed discarded his red cloak. Tucker then gave the brothers a tour of the house. The boys followed him around the house, amazed at such a mansion that housed only two people.

The last stop they came to was the library. "Wow," Al breathed as the door opened to reveal a room filled with bookshelves of alchemy books. "There must be hundreds of books here."

Tucker chuckled, "The Central Library has 500 times as much material as this. And once you pass the exam, you'll have access to all of it."

Floored at the thought of such information at his disposal, Al said, "Niisan, we have to study really –" He stopped, noticing his brother was no longer at his side. Then he spotted Ed already engrossed in a book he had pulled of a nearby shelf and gave a small laugh. "That's Niisan."

* * *

That night at dinner, Tucker asked the brothers how their studying was going.

"Fine, but I realized that there's so much I didn't know," Ed admitted in accordance with Al's noise of agreement, cutting into his dinner with relish. He wielded his fork and knife with practiced ease. No one would have guessed it took him the better part of a week to master those moves.

Tucker watched the young boy eat with great enthusiasm. "Many people, even those who have studied for years, find the exam hard," he admitted. "You're still young yet. Why don't you wait until next year?"

Ed stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth. With a thoughtful look, he put his hand back down on the table. Studying the design of the tablecloth, he said softly, "We have a purpose. Even if our chances are slim to none, we have to try. We have to move forward."

The table lapsed into silence as they continued eating. Nina, sitting at the right of her dad, looked across the table at Al's untouched plate. "Niisan hasn't eaten anything!" she exclaimed, her expressive eyes wide with alarm. "You have to eat," she insisted, holding out a piece of bread to the armored brother.

Bewildered, Al gave Ed a helpless look then hesitantly took the bread from Nina's outreached hand. He removed the helmet and dropped the bread into the hollow torso. "Yum, delicious," he said.

A delighted Nina held up another piece. "Here have another one!"

Ed turned his head away, unable to watch. He clenched his jaw, listening to Al's half-hearted attempts to eat for Nina.

* * *

That night the brothers lay on their twin sized beds in the Tucker mansion. Ed had his hands folded beneath his head. Al had stacked suitcases at the foot of the bed make it long enough for his body and unnecessarily clutched a blanket over his torso. It was more for comfort of habit than actually physical comfort. Moonlight streamed in from the open window next to Ed's bed, dancing over the auto-mail and armor, invading and retreating into the shadows of the room.

Al looked over at his restless brother. "Can't sleep?" he asked unnecessarily.

Not turning from his contemplation of the ceiling, Ed answered, "My head is full of all the things I read today."

"I believe you can pass the exam," Al said into the ensuing silence, his eye-lights bright in the darkness of the room. "Go to sleep for now."

Tearing his gaze from the ceiling, Ed still lay on the bed unmoving. "Okay," he finally said, closing his eyes, shutting out the shadows that plagued him.

* * *

Ed sat on the floor of the library, leaning against a bookshelf, open books strewn around him. At the low chime of the clock, he looked up from his studying, aghast at how much time had passed. Seeing no trace of his younger brother, Ed stood up and went to look for him.

Opening the front door, Ed's eyes were blinded by the bright sunlight. As his eyes readjusted, he heard Nina call out, "Small Niichan, there's snow!"

Snow blanketed the entire neighborhood, burying all traces of civilization in pure white as far as the eye could see. Ed squinted and saw Nina bent in the fluffy whiteness next to Al and Alexander where the front lawn once was. Deciding that now was as good a time for a break as any, Ed grinned and jumped into the snow at Nina's delighted laughter.

Hours later, they lay on the backs in the snow, looking up at the blue sky. The only sound was the loud panting of their breaths mingled with Nina's giggling.

"Big brothers, I wish that after you take the test you could stay here forever."

At the young girl's heartwarming admission, the Elric brothers sat up. Not knowing what to say, Ed bent down in the snow and began drawing. Curious as always, Nina moved over to stand over him and asked, "What are you drawing?"

"It makes wishes come true," Ed explained. "Watch." He placed his hands on the transmutation circle, and Nina watched amazed as flowers began to sprout through the snow.

Clapping her hands as Ed made a crown out of the flowers and placed it on her head, she chanted, "Big brother is amazing."

In all their fun, they failed to notice a man approaching the house. They spotted him as he crossed the lawn. He had short black hair and stubble, with rectangular glasses, giving him an intellectual look. He grinned at the foursome. "Hello. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Hughes." Completely surprised, Ed could only stare at the officer he had met on the train. Once again, he wore civilian clothes, replacing the boxy blue military coat with a soft brown sports jacket.

Still smiling, Hughes said, "It's your birthday today, isn't it, Ed?"

Al started. "Niisan, that's right!"

"H-How do you know that?" Ed sputtered.

Hughes laughed. "I'm in the investigative department. It's my job to know these things. Why don't you come over to my house to celebrate? My wife is waiting." He noticed Ed's hesitation as he glanced down at the young brunette. Hughes chuckled. "And bring that little lady over there, too. Birthday celebrations are more fun with more people."

His statement was met with smiles. It was amazing how much emotion a suit of armor could portray.

* * *

"This is my wife, Glacier," Hughes introduced proudly, holding a young woman with chin-length light brown hair by the waist. But the most noticeable thing was she was very, very pregnant.

"Her stomach's huge!" Ed exclaimed with his usual lack of subtlety.

Glacier blushed and laughed. "The baby's just kicking around inside, saying it wants to come out." She rubbed her hand over her abdomen fondly. "Would you like to touch?"

Ed and Al jumped back with stifled yelps of alarm. No way were they touching that. Nina stepped forward. "Can I touch?"

"Go ahead, Nina-chan." Glacier smiled down at the eager little girl.

Nina placed her tiny mittened hands on the bulge that was the baby. Under her hands, she felt the baby kick. "It moved!" she cried delightedly. "That's amazing!"

Ed and Al had moved closer from their retreat against the wall, and breathed in wonder as they watched Glacier and Nina.

* * *

"More tea, anyone?" Glacier asked, bringing a teapot to the now mostly empty dining table.

As they turned to her with a smile, they heard a crash. Glacier was on her knees, the tea tray and its contents scattered across the polished wood floor. Hughes leapt from his chair to help his fallen wife sit up. Glacier grimaced. "It's going to be born," she gasped.

Hughes froze in panic then leapt into a frenzy of action. "Okay, Glacier, I have to go get the doctor."

"But there's a blizzard," Al said in alarm, pointing out the window at the snow pelting down.

Grabbing his coat, Hughes shouted over his shoulder, "Hang on, Glacier. Take care of her." With a bang of the door, he was gone, leaving Ed, Al, and Nina, still sitting at the table frozen in shock.

* * *

Comfortably situated on the sofa, Glacier gave out directions to the bewildered children in between contractions. Ed staggered into the family room with a tub of water. "Glacier, where should I put this?"

"On the floor is fine. And we're going to need lots of towels."

"Towels, got it," Al said, turning to leave the room. He visibly flinched and rushed to get the requested towels as an agonized cry tore from Glacier's throat as another contraction hit.

Al returned to see Nina wiping Glacier's forehead with a cloth. Glacier gritted her teeth, suppressing another cry.

"Damnit. Even with all my alchemy knowledge, I can't do anything," Ed ground out, punching his fist into his other hand.

"Niisan." Nina's voice drew his attention. "The water is cold."

"Oh, okay." Ed knelt down to pick it up the large bowl. As his hands came in contact with it, the unmistakable blue glow of a transmutation filled the room and in a flash, the water came to a boil.

Al rushed over. "Niisan, what did you do?"

Ed blankly looked up at Al. "N-Nothing…"

"Nothing? Niisan, where's the transmutation circle?"

"Uhh, it must've been my spirit!" Ed forced a huge grin.

Further inquiry by Al was cut short by another one of Glacier's screams. "I'm gonna die!" she cried out between clenched teeth as another wave of contractions hit.

All thoughts of the water fled as the three children ran around the room in alarm, at a loss for what to do. "Glacier's gonna die!" Al worried frantically.

"She's not gonna die," Ed snapped, staring at the moaning woman in alarm.

Trying to reason out the situation with the thing he understood best, Al insisted, "But in alchemy, you need to sacrifice something in order to --"

"Giving birth isn't alchemy!" Ed exclaimed, cutting off his brother.

Oblivious to the terrified and arguing children, Glacier let out another scream as a stronger contraction tore at her abdomen. At the piercing sound, the brothers dropped their argument, lapsing back into chaotic panic.

"Where's the doctor!" Ed demanded over Nina's scream. Convinced that Glacier was dying, fat tears poured down Nina's face. With two screaming females on their hands, the two alchemists could do nothing but wait anxiously for Hughes' return.

* * *

"Good job, Glacier!" Hughes cried, tears of joy streaming down his face as the doctor cleaned up and examined their new daughter.

A soft smile on her lips, Glacier accepted her swaddled daughter from the doctor, and cradled her close. She looked up at the three children who looked on in awe. "This is all thanks to you."

Ed and Al blushed. "We didn't --" they protested.

Glacier shook her head, tears of joy pooled in her green eyes. "You stayed by my side."

The three children looked at each other and smiled.

* * *

Ed lay in bed contemplating the day's events. Once again his hands were folded behind his head and his auto-mail leg drawn up at the knee. Outside the window, the stars twinkled brightly.

"Mothers are amazing, aren't they?" Al said from his bed.

"Yeah, even as regular people, they can do something that alchemist can't do for at least another hundred years," Ed agreed.

"Our mother, too, right?"

"Yeah."

"Niisan? Was I soft and cuddly like that?" Al asked softly.

Ed frowned slightly. "Of course you were."

"Oh, okay." Al turned over to his side, his back facing Ed. If it wasn't so dark, and he didn't know that it was impossible, Ed would've thought he saw Al blush.

The brothers lay in silence, not even the wind outside disturbed the stillness of the room. "Hey, Al?" Al turned at his brother's question. "Do you think we chose the right path?"

Al sat up on the bed and swung his legs over to face his older brother. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "But I do know that I want to be able to touch you again, Niisan." He paused, moonlight dancing across the unyielding angles of his metal face. "It's funny, isn't it? We're always so close to each other, but I can't remember what it feels like to touch you, your warmth." Al turned away and lay back down.

Ed did the same, but it wasn't till many hours later did he finally sleep.

* * *

After that, the brothers studied harder and harder, determined to regain the bodies they were born with. Nina frequently came by offering hot chocolate and snacks since they tended to let time slip and forget meals. Other times, she would just quietly sit in the room, watching them pour over book after book. After a while, she fell asleep in a corner with Alexander, curling into his warm fur. Ed and Al took breaks to play with the charming girl, but always returned to the library and studied doubly hard to make up for the playtime.

One afternoon, as the brothers studied side by side, Al remembered something. "Niisan? You boiled that water without a transmutation circle."

Embarrassed, Ed replied, "It was just special circumstances, that's all."

"But still, you're amazing, Niisan. I'll have to study harder," Al insisted.

Obviously uncomfortable, Ed scratched his head with his pencil. "Here, I'll ask you another question," he said, pouncing on the book.

* * *

"There are three parts to the exam," Tucker explained one night at dinner. "The first is the written portion. Next is an interview, and sometimes they require physical examinations."

At the last statement, Al became alarmed, but Tucker continued on. "Last is the practical application. Half bring in a report on an experiment like me; the other half transmute something on the spot. Usually only one or two alchemists a year pass."

Ed and Al looked at each other, slightly worried.

* * *

The morning of the exam came. Nina and Alexander walked Ed and Al to Central Headquarters and waited patiently on the stairs. Nina, bundled in a purple parka, quietly stood next to Alexander, whom even sitting down was as tall as the little girl.

Inside the auditorium, older men from twenty to forty were sparsely dispersed throughout the room, seated on tables that curved in a semi-circle. At the head of the room was a long table, and seated behind it was the Fuhrer himself, black eye patch and all. The tests were distributed and the Fuhrer banged the gavel. "Begin."

Hours passed, and weary alchemists slowly began to trickle out of the building. Nina and Alexander stood up and watched anxiously for the two brothers to emerge through the towering white pillars. Finally she spotted them trudging out, shoulders drooped.

She ran up to them. "Niisantachi, how did you do?"

Ed looked up with bloodshot eyes. "I didn't make it to the last question," he moaned.

"I finished all of it," Al murmured, still looking at the ground. "But next is the interview…"

* * *

Hawkeye eyed her commanding officer who sat at his desk, holding one of the two sheaves of paper.

"I hadn't expected the younger one to pass as well." Colonel Mustang tossed the test he was holding on top of the other and sat back in his chair.

* * *

That night the brothers sat up in their room. "What are we gonna do for the practical application part?" Ed frowned in thought.

"Before that, what if they want to examine me? They'll find out that I'm empty," Al worried.

Ed squared his shoulders to reassure his little brother. "Don't worry, I'm sure the Colonel will come up with something."

* * *

"What do you mean 'not take the test'?" Al cried. The Elric brothers had met the Colonel in an alleyway not far from the Tuckers' residence.

"Al," Ed stopped Al's protest. "It's all right. You heard Granny Pinako. State Alchemists get called to war and have to use their abilities to kill people."

Roy watched from the shadow of the alley wall, listening to the twelve year old wise beyond his years. "Only I should have to bear the shame of being a state alchemist. And I will become one and restore you to your original body."

"Niisan…"

* * *

Ed stood before the huge double doors of the interview room. He placed a hand on the door and took a deep breath before pushing it open to reveal a darkened room with a long table of State Alchemists at the head. Lieutenant Colonel was among the State Alchemists, dressed in all his military finery. Ed's attention was captivated by the gold tripod seat standing on one point in the middle of the room.

"If you are a true alchemist, the chair will not reject you," the Fuhrer called from the head table. Sensing Ed's hesitation, he added, "An alchemist never shows fear at any time."

That was the right button to push. Ed strode in and confidently sat on the tripod. Back straight, he placed his hands on his knees and looked straight at the Fuhrer.

"Good," the Fuhrer smiled. "Now, tell us why you want to be a State Alchemist."

Ed was taken aback by the direct question. "That's…" he started after a brief pause.

"That's…?" the Fuhrer prompted.

Ed looked down at his gloved hands on his knees. He thought of his brother, trapped in a cold suit of armor, and balled his right hand into a fist. He lifted his chin and with golden eyes sparkling with determination said in a loud, clear voice, "I promised."

The Fuhrer raised his eyebrow.

"I promised my only living family member that I would become a State Alchemist."

* * *

The day of the practical exam found them standing at the steps of Central HQ. Ed lifted his chin and squared his shoulders and moved to walk into the building, ready to begin the last phase of the first step on their journey.

"Nii-chan." Ed turned back at Nina's hesitant call. As he turned, Nina quickly put her hands behind her back.

"Nina," Al gently prompted.

Nina nodded at Al and turned back to Ed. Pulling her hands out, she presented Ed with a rolled up sheet of paper. "Here."

Ed held the gift in his hands as if it were gold itself. In crayon, she had drawn the faces of himself, Al, Nina and Alexander. At the top of the page was the transmutation circle he had drawn in the snow for her. He looked over the edge of the paper at Nina's beaming face.

"It's a good luck charm to make your wishes come true," she explained, her eyes crinkling as she grinned up at him.

Ed gave the adorable little girl one of his few genuine smiles. "Thank you, Nina," he said honestly. He looked up at Al and nodded once before turning back to the building.

* * *

Ed and a group of hopeful alchemists stood behind HQ. Before them was a contained forest and lake.

A smaller group of State Alchemists stood on the side with the Fuhrer to observe. "All these materials here are at your disposal to transmute as you will."

"What do they want us to do?" Ed thought, completely at a loss.

"I'll go first," a man said, pushing his way through the group. Bending down, he drew a transmutation circle on the ground, and a huge spire shot out of the ground, towering over HQ.

"Most impressive," murmured one of the State Alchemists. The alchemist in question gave a half smile and weakly tried to stand only to fall back to his knees.

"But the loss of strength there is a minus," another whispered.

"I'll go next," piped up another alchemist. He proceeded to throw trees on a large transmutation circle then splashed buckets of water over it all. Within seconds, a huge air balloon was floating skywards.

On the other side of HQ, Nina asked worriedly, "Will Niichan be all right?"

"Of course he will. He has your good luck charm," Al assured the girl perched on his shoulders.

Ed watched the demonstrations, frantically trying to think of something to do. The balloon wafted higher and higher, but a minute after it passed the tip of the pillar, the paper bubble burst, causing the heavy balloon to plummet back toward the ground.

The group of State Alchemists started. "This isn't good," Mustang said, pulling on a white glove. They all watched, paralyzed, as the giant balloon fell onto the pointed tip of the spire. The sheer force and weight of the falling balloon caused the pillar to crack and the debris to fall in a loud rumble of thunder. The weakened alchemist still kneeling at the bottom of the spire could only look up at his crumbling creation in horror and cover his hands with his head in a feeble gesture of protection.

Eyeing the descending chunks of rock, Ed sprinted toward the pillar, his trademark red cloak flying behind him. About ten meters from the spire, he clapped his hands together in front of his chest and slammed them to the ground. Immediately, the blue light of a transmutation enveloped the area.

The alchemist at the base of the pillar, consigned to his fate found the courage to open his eyes and look up, but instead of falling rocks, flower petals wafted down and brushed his shoulders. Looking up in the clear blue sky, the balloon was no more and a huge ring of pink and red flowers hung suspended in the air.

"No transmutation circle, huh?" Mustang observed with a half-smile.

"A very young alchemist," the Fuhrer mused.

Unaware of the commotion around him, Ed stared at his hands, bewildered.

* * *

The sky was bronzed a dark orange as Ed, Al, Nina and Alexander walked home in a silence disturbed only by the soft clang and thud of Al's footsteps. Abruptly, Ed spun around to face his younger brother. Al stopped, but not so suddenly as to wake Nina who was sleeping on his shoulders.

Ed set his jaw in determination. "Al, from now on, I'm going to stop hesitating. I'm only going to move forward. And I promise, I will return you to your original body." He held out his right auto-mail fist to his brother.

Al made a sound of agreement. "And I will return your arm and leg to you," he promised, meeting his brother's fist with his own.

Ed turned back to the path, and the four of them continued on home, the remaining sunlight playing over the tired figures.

* * *

Hope you're liking it so far. Review please.


	6. 7 Night the Chimera Cries

Disclaimer: same as always.

* * *

**7 The Night the Chimera Cries**

****

****

Edward Elric stood in Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang's office. Mustang opened a drawer. "Here," he said, tossing an object carelessly towards the young boy.

Grabbing his coveted watch out of the air, Ed studied it closely then looked up at the Lieutenant Colonel. "Isn't there a more ceremonious way of giving it to me?" he asked dryly.

Mustang smirked at the boy's impertinence. "Congratulations," he said, "you are now a dog of the military." He gestured to his blond lieutenant who sat at a table behind Ed.

Dismissed, Ed followed Havoc out of the office.

* * *

Ed sat sulking in the back seat of the black military-issued sedan. Havoc glanced back. "Hey, don't worry. The Lieutenant Colonel is working on a tough case right now," he said by way of apology for his superior's behavior. "A serial murderer who only kills women."

Ed frowned. "Isn't that a job for the police?"

"It would be quite shameful for it to get out that the military has a killer right under its nose," Havoc pointed out.

"He's just doing it to get another promotion," Ed muttered.

The car came to an abrupt halt sending Ed crashing into the other end of the cabin. Rubbing his head, he glared at the Second Lieutenant.

"It's true that the Lieutenant Colonel will do anything to get a promotion," the blond officer admitted without looking back at his passenger. "But if that was the only thing driving him, the rest of us wouldn't follow him."

At Ed's silence, he bobbed his cigarette and started the car.

* * *

"Look." Ed brandished the silver watch proudly, standing in the middle of the driveway.

Al looked up from where he was playing with Nina. "Is that it?" he asked eagerly.

Ed smiled. "Yup," he said. From his right a giant blur of white came charging at him. Ed braced himself for the impact, but none came. Instead, he felt the watch being snatched from his hand. Ed stared incredulously at his empty fingers.

"Hey!" he screamed after a running Alexander. The dog turned around and grinned a doggy grin around the silver watch clamped in his teeth. He turned back around and took off as Ed broke out into a sprint.

Nina and Al smiled. "He's playing with him again," Al said, referring to Alexander. Amused, Havoc watched the young boy chase after the dog, yelling "Give it back." For what he lacked in height, the boy certainly made up for in volume.

The front door opened and Tucker stepped out into the sunlight. He took in the scene with some surprise. Havoc spotted him and saluted, "Major."

"Second Lieutenant," Tucker greeted. He watched the blond teenager and his dog running in circles around the lawn. Through the blur of red, black, and white, Tucker caught a glimpse of a silver chain. "We should have a celebration tonight." His announcement brought smiles from all the children, including Ed who finally managed to wrest his prize from Alexander's jaws. "Will you join us?" he invited Havoc.

Caught off-guard, Havoc almost dropped his cigarette. "Uh, no, thank you," he said hastily. "I still have work to do."

"All right." Tucker turned back to the children, dismissing the soldier.

"Wait, Major. The Lieutenant Colonel has a message." Tucker paused at Havoc's words, his shoulder's stiffening beneath his dark brown jacket. "'Don't forget this year's assessment.' He is looking forward to your report."

Tucker smiled sadly. "I am aware of that," he said, his back still to Havoc.

* * *

"The assessment Second Lieutenant Havoc mentioned, is that the one to renew your State Alchemist qualification?" Al asked at dinner that night.

Tucker looked down at his potatoes, his round glasses reflecting the lamp light. "Yes. I have to do well this year," he admitted to them. "I didn't receive very high marks last year. I'll have to try harder."

From beside him, Nina raised her fists in the air holding her fork and knife. "Do your best, Papa!" she cheered, drawing smiles from across the table.

Ed leaned forward, putting down his utensils. "Are you going to create another chimera that can understand human words?" he asked anxiously.

"Can we see it when you're done?" chimed in Al.

Tucker's glasses glinted then cleared. "Of course," he laughed nervously.

* * *

Later that night, Ed hunched over the desk in their room, painstakingly composing words with his left hand. Even with the auto-mail, he couldn't quite get the hand of fine motor skills with his right arm. He was halfway down the page when Nina poked her head over his shoulder.

"Whatcha doing?" Her curious voice startled Ed into dropping the pencil. "Who are you writing a letter to?"

Ed swore Al's eye-lights turned mischievous. "You're writing to Winry, aren't you?"

"I'm giving her a report!" Ed declared, red creeping up his neck. "'I became a State Alchemist, how's that?'" he defended.

Nina looked back up at Ed. "Is Winry your girlfriend?" she asked innocently.

Ignoring Ed's outraged yowl, Al, who was sitting on the bed, leaned forward to Nina. "Well, actually…" he began.

Bolting to his feet, Ed waved his hands frantically in denial. "No!" he exclaimed.

"I'm going to write a letter to my mom, too," Nina said, unimpressed by her big brother's outburst. She plopped down on the ground on her stomach between their beds and spread out her crayons.

Ed and Al both quietly watched the little girl carefully choose crayons. "Nina, where is your mom?" Al finally asked.

Nina looked up. "She went away. She said Daddy was good-for-nothing and she left," she promptly recited. She dropped her gaze back down to her drawing. "I hope she answers me," she wished softly.

The brothers exchanged a meaningful glance. Al slid off the bed and knelt next to the little girl and fondly rubbed her head with his metal hand. Ed gave a soft smile as Nina's laughter filled the room.

In a few hours, the room had lapsed into silence only to be broken by the soft scrape of the door. "Sorry if she's bothering you," Tucker apologized. He knelt down to pick up a now sleeping Nina.

Ed bent down to pick up her drawing. "Here, she drew this for her mom," he said, handing it to the older alchemist.

Ed couldn't see Tucker's eyes behind the glare of his round lenses as he looked down at his daughter. "Gambatte, Papa," Nina murmured, slightly stirring in her father's arms.

* * *

Ed rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "All right, all right," he said to the big white dog tugging at his leash. "We're going." He let Alexander lead him down the hallway. As they passed the door to the dining room, Ed paused, drawing up on the leash.

Ed slowly entered the room and looked in the bowl in the middle of the dining table. In it was the charred remains of Nina's drawing. In the dim morning light, Ed could barely make out the figures of Tucker, Nina, Alexander, and a woman he supposed was her mother.

Confused, Ed took Alexander out then headed for First Central Library to make use of one of his privileges of being a dog of the military.

He stopped at the front desk. "Can I see reports on Shou Tucker's chimera?" he asked the black woman in the front.

"Tucker," the woman repeated thoughtfully. "Sheska," she called to the other worker. A young girl with mousy brown hair and thick glasses turned. "Do you know anything about Shou Tucker's reports?"

"They're classified," she replied, juggling the huge stack of books in her arms.

Ed unclipped his watch from his belt. "I'm not an ordinary person," he insisted, showing them his proof.

Sheska swayed back and forth with the precarious stack. "Sorry," she said, "but his research is classified. If you want to see it, you need permission from Brigadier General Grand."

"Brigadier General Grand, the Iron Blood Alchemist," the first librarian explained at the boy's confused expression. "He was the first one to propose using alchemists for military purposes."

Disappointed, Ed turned and walked out of the library. On the stairs, a shout drew his attention. A brown skinned man with a yellow jacket and sunglasses was marching up the stairs.

"Hey, hey," the officer yelled. "You can't go in there!"

As the stranger passed him, Ed reached out and grasped the man's right arm with his auto-mail hand. The man glanced down at him through his dark glasses. He had an unusual X-shaped scar on his forehead, the lower two legs going over each eye.

"Sorry," Ed said apologetically, "but it's the rule."

Turning back to the library, the man kept walking. The material of his jacket ripped in Ed's fingers, the sound ripping through the air. Ed stared at the intricate tattoos covering his skin.

The man gritted his teeth and stared at Ed's hand where his sleeve dangled from. Growling, he clasped his other hand over his arm, hiding the tattoos. As more military personnel came running in to remove the intruder, the man sprinted back down the stairs and left.

Shrugging off the bizarre incident, Ed dropped the sleeve and turned his mind back to the issue at hand. He headed toward the Hughes' house. He needed questions answered, and the intelligence officer owed him a favor.

* * *

Maes Hughes bounced his baby daughter on his knee. "Elysia, say hi to Ed," he cooed over her gurgles, making baby noises, waving her hand at Ed who sat on the sofa opposite of Hughes.

Glacier swept in and plucked Elysia out of her father's arms. "Talk to Ed," she instructed to his crestfallen face.

The object of his adoration taken away, Hughes rubbed his hands over his stubble and turned a resigned face to Ed. "So what's up?"

"What do you know about Tucker's chimera?" Ed inquired. "The one that spoke human words."

Hughes leaned back. "Not much," he admitted, pushing up his rectangular glasses with his middle finger. "But it definitely said two things. 'I want to die.' After that, it refused to eat and died a few days later."

Ed digested that information. "What do you know about his wife?" he asked next.

Surprise flickered across Hughes' face. "You mean the one who died before he became a State Alchemist?" Ed's eyes widened. "You didn't know?" Hughes surmised from his stricken expression.

The shrill ring of the phone pierced the air. "Hughes," he answered. Ed sat in silence as the older man finished the conversation.

"He's killed another one," Hughes told him, standing up. "That makes it five."

Realizing he was talking about the serial killer Mustang was trying to catch, Ed stood up as well, wordlessly following Hughes' to his car.

They arrived at the scene to the sobbing cries of a young boy. Ed trailed after Hughes, his boots softly scuffing against the ground of the alleyway. The boy was hunched over a blanket covering the corpse. Ed assumed it was the corpse. Brown hair and a slim hand peeked out from under the blanket and the whole area was soaked in blood.

An officer stepped over to take the distraught child away. The boy's fingers were still clenched in the rough material, and as he was lifted, the blanket went with him. Ed's eyes widened in horror when he saw the mutilated body the blanket had hid.

Flashes of his mother spun through his mind, the distorted, grotesque creature that was supposed to be his mother. The boy's sobs had escalated to screams, but Ed didn't hear anything. He didn't hear the yelled concerns of the other officers. His golden eyes glued to the mass of flesh and blood sprawled on the ground, the world around him spun around that one focal point. Ed drew harsh, ragged breaths. Then the alley stopped spinning and Ed fell into a merciful blackness.

* * *

Ed awoke in a bed. Tucker's face slowly swam into focus. "It must have been terrible, your mother," Tucker's voice came. He was seated in a wooden chair next to Ed's bed.

It was then Ed realized that his jacket was gone and his auto-mail was plainly visible with only his sleeveless black shirt on. From the sympathetic look in Tucker's eyes, Ed surmised that he had figured out the truth. "Yeah," he softly agreed, intently studying his hands.

"What you two did was unforgivable," Tucker continued, noting the younger alchemist's silence, "but I understand."

Ed sat motionless. He didn't see how anyone could understand. The sounds of a commotion from downstairs drifted up the stairs and the two went down to investigate.

They stopped at the base of the stairs. Al stood just inside the front door, his arms protectively wrapped around Nina. Standing at the entrance was the Iron Blood Alchemist, Basque Grand. Bald with a black handlebar mustache, the general's tall and muscular frame filled the doorframe.

"I hear you are interested in Tucker's research," he boomed, eying Ed from his considerable height. "It's classified."

With that, a bunch of soldiers saw to it that Ed and Al packed their belongings and were escorted outside. Grand watched his subordinates load up the car from a window in Tucker's study. "Mustang has one up on me now since he discovered that kid," he said staring at the blond boy and his armored brother.

"I was able to cover for you last year," he said to Tucker. "But you had better present something good at the assessment this year. I will get in trouble, too, since I am your supporter. You don't want to give up your title of Sewing Life Alchemist to that little brat and go back to your previous lifestyle, do you? Wandering down the streets with an empty stomach."

Tucker looked out the window, the sunlight casting a glare on his glasses. "No," he admitted.

Nina had been very quiet as the soldiers invaded her house. Now she stood on the front step, holding her dad's hand. "Niisantachi, where are you going?" she asked, tears making her blue eyes even brighter.

Ignoring the soldiers hovering over them, Ed and Al faced the little girl. "Don't worry, we'll be back to play with you," Al promised her.

Nina lifted her eyes to Al's, then to Ed's, seeking reassurance. "Really?"

Ed smiled. "Yeah."

Through her tears, Nina smiled. The brothers smiled down at their little sister before allowing themselves to be ushered into the awaiting cars. Nina stood on the porch step staring after the car long after they had disappeared at the bend clutching her father's hand.

* * *

Tucker sat at his desk, his shoulders hunched over papers covered in his scribbles, but he wasn't looking at any of them. His hands cradled his bent head. A single lamp dimly lit the room.

"Papa?" Nina's soft question filled the room. Tucker turned to see Nina and Alexander silhouetted in the doorway. "Are you hurt somewhere?"

Tucker pushed back from the table and walked over to where his daughter stood. She was still in her blue overalls, one small hand on Alexander's collar. He knelt in front of her and gathered her close. "I'm at the end of the road, Nina," he huskily admitted, burying his face into her tiny shoulder.

Surprised at the sudden gesture, Nina blinked then relaxed into the hug. "Papa," she murmured, closing her eyes.

* * *

Ed and Al silently strode through Tucker's hallway in darkness. The lights were all off in the house and no moonlight shone through the windows.

"Niisan, we could get in big trouble for this," Al warned his brother.

Ed kept on walking. "If we find nothing here, I'll be glad," he said.

Confused, Al followed his brother, knowing better to argue with him when he had that look in his eyes. Descending down a flight of stairs, Ed quietly pushed open the door to the basement.

Dim orange-yellow light spilled into the stairway. "Come in." Tucker's raspy voice beckoned.

Hesitantly, the brothers entered the basement, warily eyeing stacked cages and boxes that lined the walls. They walked towards the source of the dim light. They turned the corner to find Tucker standing against a backdrop of transmutation circles painted on the walls and floor. The dim candlelight cast a maniacal gleam to the older alchemist's glasses.

"Look," he rasped. "A perfect chimera that speaks and understands human words."

Ed and Al stopped in their tracks. In the middle of a transmutation circle sat a dog-like chimera. Its shaggy fur was an off-white color and a brown mane of hair went from the crown of its head to its tail.

"I finished him just in time for this year's assessment," Tucker said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Now I won't have to worry about research funds." Ed and Al took a few steps forward. "Say hi," he prompted the chimera. "This is Edward."

The brothers were rooted to the spot. The chimera lifted its head. "Ed-ward," it formed the words haltingly. Ed's heart thumped loudly.

"Good job," Tucker praised.

"G-good job," the creature repeated, slowly forming each syllable. "Ed-Oniichan," it said again. Ed fell to his knees, coming nose to nose with the chimera.

"Let's play." It turned its head to Al beseechingly. With a soft gasp, Al knelt down beside the chimera. Turning back to the shorter boy, it tugged on Ed's red cloak with its teeth. Hearing the soft clink of chains, Ed watched, paralyzed, as it nosed his silver watch. Ed's heart stopped beating altogether.

His hand shaking, he raised them to the chimera's neck and gave it a gentle stroke. Eyes downcast, Ed got to his feet. Al watched his brother clench his fists at his sides.

Shoulders shaking, Ed brought his chin up slightly, his golden eyes and hair catching the flickering candlelight. "Tucker," he ground out, his voice quavering slightly.

"Yes?" Tucker turned to face the younger boy, his gaze innocent and questioning.

"When did you say your wife left?" he asked softly, his eyes still pointed at an area around Tucker's knees.

"Two years ago" came the blithe reply.

Ed clenched his jaw. "And when did you create the first chimera that spoke words?"

Al listened to the conversation with growing apprehension.

"Two years ago," Tucker replied again. "Why?"

Ed lifted his gaze and met Tucker's dead-on. "Where are Nina and Alexander?" he demanded, his voice loud and strong.

Al let out an audible gasp at the implication, his hands freezing above the chimera in mid-stroke. The chimera whined plaintively.

Ed watched, taking deep breaths to control his anger, as Tucker heaved a sigh, looking away. "I hate kids like you," he finally said. The glare cleared from his round glasses and he eyed Edward. "You're too smart for your own good," he bit out, confirming Ed's accusations.

Ed's eyes narrowed. He took a lunged at Tucker and grabbed the man's collar with his left hand, pinning him to the wall. "You heard him. He used his own wife... and now he used his own daughter and dog to create a chimera," Ed spat out in disgust. "Is it so easy to toy with a human life?" His eyes blazed with golden fury.

"A person's life?" Tucker echoed blankly. He chuckled. "Yes, a person's life," he repeated. "Isn't that what you did?" he accused. "Your arm and leg, your brother's body, your mother."

Enraged, Ed slammed his fist into Tucker's jaw. He pulled his fist back for another one, but Al caught his wrist. "Why, Tucker-san?" he asked quietly. "I thought you need to preserve your lifestyle with Nina."

"I have no reason to create a chimera," he admitted coherently. "I just wanted to see if I could," he continued, ignoring the brothers' gasps.

"The possibility of creating a chimera that spoke and could understand human words. It was so tempting. It's human nature to want to experiment. That's what scientists do." He looked pointedly at Ed's arm then at Al, a deranged gleam in his eyes. His glasses had fallen off when Ed punched him. "You and I are the same."

Ed's precarious hold on his temper snapped. With a scream of denial, he tightened his hold once more alchemist's shirt collar and brought his right fist down into Tucker's face. "I… I…" he panted, his harsh breaths punctuating each blow his fist landed.

"Niisan!" Al called out in alarm. "He's going to die." Al's warning fell on deaf ears, and Ed continued to pummel an almost unconscious Tucker.

He brought up his fist again and felt a tug on his jacket. He looked over his shoulder. The chimera dropped the mouthful of red material. It gave a faint whine. "Let's play," she beseeched.

Drained of his anger, Ed turned to the chimera. "Sorry, Nina, this might hurt a little," he said clapping his hands, "but bear with it for a little while, okay?"

"Niisan, you're not going to re-transmute her?" Al questioned worriedly. "We can't do that yet…" A broken laugh from the man on the ground interrupted him.

"My chimera was created perfectly. It cannot be changed back." Tucker lifted his head from the ground, wiping at his bloodied lip.

Ed ignored him and lifted his hands above Nina, ready to place them on the dog's head. "Be careful not to let her end up like your mother," the alchemist warned.

Ed froze, his eyes wide. He dropped his hands to his sides. "I'm sorry, Nina."

Sensing his pain, the chimera nudged his shoulder.

"What's happened here?" Brigadier General Grand's voice bounced off the walls. The room's occupants looked up at the newcomer, four soldiers brandishing rifles fanned out on either side of him.

Ed didn't look up as the soldiers hauled Tucker to his feet. "He used his daughter," he ground out, "to make a chimera."

Grand raised an eyebrow at the kneeling boy. "I see," he rumbled. Hands clasped behind his back, he stood slightly apart from the scene and shouted orders at his subordinates.

Ed stood at the gate of the Tucker mansion, listlessly watching the soldiers load Tucker into the waiting car. Al stood next to him, a comforting presence.

Basque Grand approached them. "Tucker will be tried. Mention what happened here to no one," he told them brusquely.

"What?" Ed exploded. Two soldiers grabbed him as he lunged at the general. "You knew about this all along – oomph." His outburst was ruthlessly quelled with a metal fist to his midsection.

Grand stood over the gasping boy, indifferently changing his blunt metal limb back to a normal hand. Casting one last glance at Mustang's newest protégée, he spun on his heel. "Let's go," he ordered, his boots clapping smartly on the cobblestone road.

Al helped Ed struggle to his knees in time to see them load a caged Nina into the back of the car. The last of the soldiers piled into the car. The engine started and the car began pulling away.

Ed gritted his teeth. "I'm not letting you take Nina," he vowed, clapping his hands and slamming it to the road.

Blue light danced a path from Ed's hands to the car driving away, uprooting the street. As the ground broke beneath it, the car bucked, skidded then fell to its side. The back doors fell open and the cage tumbled out. The chimera made its way out of the now broken cage.

"Nina!" Ed called. She looked up at the sound of her name. Her eyes met Ed's, then she quickly turned away, ashamed, loping down the street and into the alleyways.

Ed and Al surged to their feet, chasing after her.

* * *

A man sat alone against the wall of a deserted alley, hands resting on upraised knees. Soft whimpers caused him to look up and see a shaggy white dog pad into the alleyway. It walked up to the man to sit between its knees. The man's eyes sparked with curiosity behind his dark glasses. He placed his hands on the animal's head.

The tattoos on his right arm flashed pink. Startled, he drew his hands away. "You're something animal and human combined," he murmured in awe. "How do I know this?"

Looking back down at the creature, he saw the pain in its eyes. "You poor thing," he said, placing his right hand between its ears. He closed his eyes. "Honorable God who created all things," he prayed, "please welcome this pitiful soul with open arms." His arm glowed pink again.

A couple minutes later, he emerged from the alley. "God," he said, clutching his right arm, "now I know why my brother gave me this arm. It's so I can get revenge on those who destroyed us by using their own cursed alchemy."

* * *

Ed and Al ran through the alleys, looking for Nina. A splash of red caught Ed's eye as they dashed past a dead end. Ed skidded to a halt. 

Al stopped as well. "Niisan?" he asked. Ed was frozen in place, staring at something, his eyes wide with horror. Al traced his gaze to the dead end wall and gasped.

Splattered over the mildew and grime of the alleyway was a huge blood red stain. The blood seemed to shoot out from the inside, forming the imprint of a human head and canine hind legs and tail.

"Nina." Ed's lips formed the soft plea.

Al stepped closer. "This looks like she was decomposed using alchemy," he quietly observed.

The pain in Ed's chest grew unbearably tight and his breath hitched. He haltingly took a few steps toward the wall. He wanted to reach out to the wall, to touch what was left of the little girl who made him smile, made him laugh. But he couldn't. His hands wouldn't budge from his sides.

He couldn't look at the blood. He couldn't look at the end of another life. So he looked at the ground. A chill skipped down his spine, followed by waves of heat. He bit the inside of his lip.

The gray skies finally gave way to rain, and the drops pattered softly on Al's armor. He watched a few steps behind as once again his brother's shoulders shook with a ferocity that would have frightened anyone else.

Ed clenched his jaw tighter. "I'm sorry, Nina," he whispered brokenly.

With a hiccup, Ed lost the battle and hot tears slid down his cheeks, splashing on the ground. But it didn't matter. The sky opened up and heaven's tears poured out of the sky, washing away the drops at Ed's feet.

The two brothers stood motionless in the alleyway. The rain poured off of Al's metal body, but he didn't give a thought to rust. Thunder rumbled in, drowning out Ed's anguished sobs. The rain pelted the boy with its fierce drops, soaking him and hiding the tears he wanted no one to see.

* * *

A/N: Probably one of the best episodes in the series. I wanted to cry for Ed in this one. But even more so in the next one. I hope I did them justice 


	7. 8 Philosopher's Stone

Sorry for the delayed update.

Disclaimer: same as always.

**

* * *

8 Philosopher's Stone**

A clap resounded in the narrow alley. Ed slapped his palms against the wet bloodstain. Raindrops mixed with his tears and poured down his face. Too overcome with grief to move, much less coherently attempt a transmutation, the teenager stood in the rain braced against the alley wall. He didn't notice the military soldiers streaming into the alleyway.

At the mouth of the alley two people sat in the backseat of a black sedan studying the brothers through the glass window. Finally one of them spoke. "If there were ever a thing known as the act of the devil, this case must be it." Hawkeye's clipped voice was soft, but it echoed in the car's silent interior.

Roy watched as the boy's shoulders heaved beneath his rain-sodden cloak. "The devil, huh? We State Alchemists are the military's human weapons. If there is a need, we will be called to duty and if ordered to we must soil our hands," he said emotionlessly. "What Tucker did and the position we're in right now are similar if we look at how both affected human life."

"That is an adult's reasoning." Hawkeye's reddish-brown eyes never left Ed's trembling figure. "But they are just children."

Oblivious to all of it, Ed blindly stared at the water pooling at his feet, his hands still placed against the wall. Even if he could have moved, he was afraid to move them for fear they would tremble. "Niisan," Al's gentle whisper broke into Ed's consciousness. "The Lieutenant Colonel."

Ed mustered the energy to push himself away from what was left of his little sister, his white gloves coming away stained in her blood. He lifted dull gold eyes to the approaching State Alchemist. Mustang's calm strides contrasted sharply against the chaos of the alley.

"It is a useless effort," he told the young boy in a dispassionate tone. "It is impossible to rebuild a life form that has lost its life already, no matter how good an alchemist you are." Rain dripped from the tips of his messy black hair, running into his eyes.

His sharp eyes studied the boy's features. He waited for the surge of anger and indignation at what he was sure the boy would interpret as a personal insult to his strict code of pride. He got no such response. He prodded again. "Who will become happy if you revive a defective chimera?"

Something flickered in the young State Alchemist's eyes. Roy struggled to purge all sympathy and gentleness from his voice; the brothers did not respond to kindness and babying from him and he saw no need to give it to them. "There will be much harsher things down the path you two choose. You must accept this, even if you must force yourselves to, and move on."

Angry gold sparks shot from Ed's eyes at the command. "Accept this?" he demanded hoarsely. Enraged at the Lieutenant Colonel's carefully neutral expression, Ed lunged at the older man.

Mustang easily caught the boy's wrist. "You have some goal you wish to accomplish, don't you?" he reminded Ed roughly. "Do you have time to stand around idle?"

Another black sedan pulled up. Major Maes Hughes stepped out of the backseat into the scurry of the investigation team. "A man can't even take a bath with his daughter without being disturbed," he muttered, resignedly rubbing the back of his head.

Mustang held the boy's gaze. "The rest is the investigative department's job. Get out of the way."

The fight drained out of Ed leaving him feeling as hollow as Al. He ripped his arm from Mustang's grip. The anger Roy had been striving for was once again replaced by tears and misery in his gold eyes. He pushed past the sea of blue uniforms and blindly ran out of the alleyway.

Hughes frowned at the scene before him. "This is awful. Is this the serial killer? He only goes after young women and slices them to death." He turned his attention to the blood-splattered wall. "It looks like she blew up from the inside."

Ed stood at the mouth of the alleyway, off to the side. His normally rigid shoulders were slumped in despair. Rain trickled down his blond hair and down his face, cleansing away the saltiness of his tears. His tears were gone and so was his anger. He was empty. Not even the grief could fill the hollow emptiness.

* * *

Ed and Al trailed after Lieutenant Havoc, following him down the hallway. "Look at your faces." Havoc frowned at the bags and deep shadows under the boy's eyes.

"We've just been through a lot," Ed replied wearily. "We've decided not to hesitate, so…" he trailed off. "What are our orders?"

Havoc stopped at double doors. He pushed them open. "This." Ed and Al peered into the dark room. Books were strewn over the floor and tables and glowing yellow eyes looked back at them from cages. "Organize the data here in order to gain an understanding of Tucker's research."

Ed's eyes went wide. He lifted them to the blond lieutenant incredulously. "Are you asking me to continue Tucker's research?"

Havoc puffed on his cigarette. "Although he went about it in the wrong way, Tucker's research had some benefits to the military."

"Then let Tucker do it," Ed exploded.

"He died." Both brothers gasped. "His crime was apparent so the upper classes decided to execute him."

Ed took a step towards Havoc. "They concealed the case? Is that possible?"

"Show some loyalty to the military." Havoc tapped the thick book he held on his shoulder. "That is one of the State Alchemists' rules." He handed the book to the speechless boy.

* * *

Al kneeled on the floor, systematically sorting and restacking books. "It looks like Tucker was doing research on the Philosopher's Stone, too," he observed into the room's silence.

Ed sat at the other end of the room, resentfully feeding the chimeras through the cage bars. "Yeah? That's nice."

Al put down the stack of books, his almost endless supply of patience with his brother wearing thin. "How long are you going to sulk like that, Niisan?" He looked down at the books in his hands. "The Philosopher's Stone is the ultimate secret of alchemy. It amplifies the alchemic technique by infinity and enables transmutations that don't abide by the principle. In other words, we could do things that we couldn't."

A burlap sack hit Al's metal face, some of the food falling onto his chest plate. "That thing is just a legend," Ed muttered. "It's only a fairy tale."

Al wouldn't give up. "But Tucker, a State Alchemist, was researching it, so…"

Ed shot to his feet and whirled on his brother. "I don't care about his research." Ed's vehement outburst sliced through the dark room. "Al, did you forget about Nina?" Al just stared at his brother. The blond boy was stretched to the breaking point. Ed ran out of the room.

* * *

"I cannot permit that." Mustang finished signing a document and put it aside to give back to Hawkeye.

"Why?" Ed took a step towards Mustang's desk. "The serial murderer might have done that to Nina. Let me help," he implored.

"What was the job I ordered you to do? What happened to the analysis of Tucker's research?" Mustang arched a raven-black eyebrow.

Ed quieted. He lowered his head. "I don't want to do that," he mumbled. He lifted his chin. "I'll investigate on my own."

"Then leave that behind." Mustang nodded to the watch that hung from Ed's belt.

Ed grabbed the watch and slammed it down on the Lieutenant Colonel's desk. "I was planning to." He stalked out of the office and down the steps of Central Headquarters.

He stomped past Al. "Niisan…Niisan, wait." Al jogged to catch up with his brother. "You aren't the only one who's mad because we couldn't do anything for Nina. We're alchemists. Our job isn't to catch the criminal. It's to do more research so that we can save children from becoming like Nina." Al stopped as Ed broke out into a run.

Ed ran away from headquarters. Away from the blasted Lieutenant Colonel, away from the military, even away from his brother. No one understood. Ed didn't know if he understood himself.

He roamed aimlessly through the streets of Central. Ed was jarred from his thoughts when he accidentally walked into someone. He jumped back, about to apologize. The apology died on his lips when he saw who he had hit. "You're the guy from the library."

The dark-skinned man's eyes narrowed behind his dark lenses. "Since you were able to enter the library's first sector, are you a State Alchemist as well?"

Ed stuck his hands in his pockets. "At the time, yeah." He shrugged. "But I'm not one anymore."

"Is that so? That's better for your sake." He turned around and walked away from the bewildered boy. He gripped the tattoo visible under the torn sleeve. "That's better if you don't want to be destroyed by this arm."

* * *

A small, light blond-haired girl stepped off the train onto Central Station's platform. She placed her hand on her head to keep her wide-brimmed hat from flying off. The short skirt of her cream-colored dress fluttered in the breeze.

"Won't Ed and Al be surprised? I, Winry, am going to congratulate them." She smiled and wrapped both tiny hands around the handle of her enormous suitcase. "Okay, let's go."

* * *

Al stood under the shade of an empty pavilion where troops lined up. He bowed to the shorter blonde before him. "Thank you, Second Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"It's no problem. But I barely know anything about the Philosopher's Stone," she confessed. "At least I have not heard that it exists in reality. I thought it was just a legend."

"Really?"

Hawkeye's reddish-brown eyes darted around the empty area. She leaned forward. "I believe that you shouldn't pursue it," she warned in a low whisper. "It is said that bad things happen to those who seek the Philosopher's Stone."

"Oh, you're interested in the Philosopher's Stone?" a man's voice asked.

Hawkeye jumped, ashamed at having been caught doing something so unprofessional as gossiping. Al stepped aside to reveal a dark-haired man who had been quietly standing behind him. He glanced at the lieutenant who was stiffly saluting the man. "Who's this?"

Hawkeye slid her eyes to the suit of armor. "He is…"

"You wish to obtain the Philosopher's Stone?" the man asked Al. He was tall and broad-shouldered in his military uniform. A black eye-patch covered his left eye. A smile seemed to perpetually lurk at the corners of his mouth.

"Yes."

"For what reason?"

"For huma-- I mean, I want to get back the thing my older brother lost," Al quickly covered up his slip.

The man smiled. "You are a caring little brother. I don't know too many details about it either, but there are many who believe in the Philosopher's Stone. Also, I sometimes hear that someone has succeeded in creating it. Rumors like that end up in the military. The Central Library's first sector should have records of that."

"Really?"

"Only State Alchemists can use that place," the man informed him.

"So a State Alchemist can confirm if the rumor is true or not," Al contemplated under his breath. Al bowed to both military officers and excused himself.

Hawkeye watched the boy go. She turned to the man. "Fuhrer, why did you tell him such a thing?"

King Bradley turned to the lieutenant. "It is a good thing for a young man to chase after a dream. Do you not think so, Second Lieutenant?" His single eye sparkled with merriment.

* * *

Ed placed his lunch tray down on the table. He barely glanced at the two sandwiches. He opened a file and began scanning through the criminal records. Behind him, he could hear Major Hughes gushing about his new picture of his daughter.

Hughes plopped down in the seat next to the boy. He thrust a photo in front of Ed's nose. "How is she? You think she looks like me? Everyone says that."

Ed didn't look up. "Don't bother me, old man."

"That's not very nice." Hughes placed the precious photo back in his chest pocket. "I'm showing you that analysis of serial murderers that I'm prohibited to show others." He picked up one of Ed's sandwiches and brought it to his mouth.

Ed grabbed the sandwich and was able to recover half of it. He put it back on his tray. "You owe me two favors from the incident with the train and then with your wife," he reminded the major.

"Is that so?" Hughes chewed on the bread. "Anyway, we're really stuck here. There are no witnesses that can even attest to the fact that the crime took place here in the city. The bodies have been sliced to death and it's hard to believe he did that all in that short amount of time."

"Maybe he killed the victims elsewhere and then brought them in," Ed suggested. "How much time elapsed after victims died?"

Hughes considered the boy's words. He may be young, but that mind was sharp. "The autopsy didn't tell us the exact time. But the military and police are having all cars in the city searched by opening and checking all trunks."

Ed looked back down at the criminal records before him. "There must be something we're missing," he thought aloud. "Like a car that can hide corpses."

"Or it could be an alchemist."

Ed glared at the older man. "Alchemists aren't murderers."

Hughes merely leaned back in his chair and shrugged. A young soldier approached the table. "Excuse me, are you Mr. Elric?" he addressed the boy. "You have a guest at the Central command desk."

* * *

A young woman in a lime-green dress shouldered open the door to the kitchen. Her long brown hair fell into her eyes as she dragged in a large brown sack. "How are you doing?" she greeted the other workers.

A rather fat man looked up from where he was washing dishes in the large aluminum sink. "Thanks for doing this all the time," he said, soap bubbles up to his elbows, soaking the rolled up sleeves of his kitchen whites.

"Don't mention it." She sat down. "There was another State Alchemist qualification exam wasn't there?"

The man nodded. "Did you know that this time someone twelve years old passed the exam? I heard he did this with his hands and transmuted something." He placed his soapy hands together in front of his chest.

The woman laughed softly. "Is that true?"

"Oh, look, it's that blond kid." He pointed to Edward as he passed by the counter. "He's still a child." He resumed his washing. "Anyway, be careful with that killer out there. I heard that beautiful ladies get killed."

She shot a look at him through lowered lashes. "You're worried about me?"

The man's plump cheeks were tinged red. "Yes."

"I hope he gets caught soon. So did you hear anything else about the case?"

* * *

Winry sat on the steps of Central, her chin propped up in her hands. She had taken off her jacket as a concession to Central's heat. Her hat also lay on the ground next to her suitcase. "How long is Ed going to make me wait?" she sighed.

She perked up when she looked at the street in front of the headquarters. A large van-like car was parked at the bottom of the steps. She ran down the steps and circled the vehicle. "A refrigeration machine. Central does have the latest cars." She ran her fingers over the cool metal. "How cool. I want to break it apart," she said wistfully.

"Breaking it apart would cause some trouble."

Winry jumped at the voice behind her. A woman in a lime-green dress stood with her hand on the car. Embarrassed, Winry folded her hands behind her back. "I'm sorry, is this your car?"

The woman smiled kindly. "Yes, it's our food shop's carrier."

Winry tilted her head. There was a strange gleam in the woman's eyes. "Is something the matter?" she inquired politely.

She blinked and the look was gone. "Would you like to see the inside?" she asked, opening the back door.

Winry gasped with pleasure. "Can I? Thank you," she gushed, stepping inside.

* * *

Ed followed the officer outside to the front steps of Central HQ. He shaded his eyes against the bright sunlight. No one was there. A pink jacket draped over a large brown suitcase sat on the top step. A floppy white hat lay next to it.

"I told her to wait right here," Ed's escort frowned. Ed scanned the area, looking for any traces of his visitor. His gaze settled on thick tire tracks at the base of the stairs.

He sprinted down the stairs and examined the tracks. A glint of light caught his eyes. He bent down and picked up an unusually large screw. It was the same size as the ones in his auto-mail. Winry? Ed turned to the officer. "Was there a car parked here?"

"Yes, a refrigeration car from the food company that delivers for the military cafeteria," the brown-haired man answered.

A refrigeration car. It was cold and big enough to transport…bodies. Ed's breath caught in his throat. Gripping the screw tightly in his fist, he took off in a run following the car's tracks. The confused officer called after the young boy then gave up when he realized the boy didn't even pause in his mad dash.

* * *

Ed slowed when he saw the refrigeration car parked in a deserted alleyway. He climbed into the back of the car. He could almost see his breath. He heard soft weeping and followed the noise. A young woman in a lime green dress and long brown hair huddled against the wall. Ed crouched down.

"Are you a prisoner, too?" he asked, concern lacing his words. He stood up and turned to look at the refrigeration car. "Let's just find my friend and I'll get you out of – oomph." Something whacked him from behind and Ed crumpled into darkness.

Ed drifted back into consciousness and groaned as pain shot through his head. He tried to lift his hand to soothe the ache at the back of his head but found he was bound to a wooden chair with thick chain wrapped several times around his torso. His right auto-mail arm was also missing. Ed's vision blurred back into focus.

The brown-haired woman stood at a table. All around hung large slabs of pork and beef, some still carcasses of pigs. "Welcome to my shop, boy," she greeted. She raised her hand to her hairline, grabbing the brown strands. In a smooth motion, she pulled off the wig to reveal sparse short blond hair. "I'm this shop's owner, Barry. I've heard that you're an alchemist that can transmute things with just your hands, so I took precautions." The slender man nudged the auto-mail arm that lay on the table.

"As a congratulations for coming this far, I have something to show you." Barry pushed a nearby pig and it slid to the side. Winry was bound and gagged, her hands chained to the ceiling and her blue eyes wide with fear. "Winry!" Ed struggled harder against the abrasive chains.

Barry picked up a large butcher's knife the length of his forearm. The dim light in the refrigeration car glinted menacingly off the sharp edge. Barry sidled up to the bound girl. With each inch he came closer, Winry's eyes widened further. "I'll slice her apart beautifully," he reverently murmured, his beady eyes caressing her milky white skin.

"You can't just kill a person that easily," Ed yelled, aghast at the maniacal gleam in the man's eyes.

Barry turned those eyes on Ed. "Oh but it is," he breathed. He began walking towards Ed. "I started with my wife. We had a fight. I actually didn't mean to kill her. But I took her apart so artistically." He stopped in front of the boy. He placed the knife on Ed's left shoulder and applied pressure. Ed clenched his jaw as the sharp blade cut into his skin. Winry let out a muffled scream from her position across the car. "It just got easier after that." He lifted the blade. "I'll take care of you first, before I start on her," he informed Ed graciously.

Behind his back, Ed's left hand trembled as he grasped Winry's screw in his almost numb fingers. His hand was damp with sweat and he prayed he wouldn't drop the screw.

Barry hefted the gleaming knife above his head and brought it down to cleave the boy in two. Ed squeezed his eyes shut and desperately thrust his thumb over the tiny transmutation circle he had etched into the chair back. Blue light crackled and Ed leapt from the chair a split second before Barry's blade slashed through the wooden chair.

Fear and adrenaline pumping through his veins, Ed scrambled to his feet. He grabbed the iron rod on the floor that he had transmuted from his chains. He lifted it up just as Barry brought the blade down again. The clang of metal against metal almost drowned out Ed's ragged pants for breath and the man's crazed laughs. Blindly defending himself with his makeshift weapon, on a stroke of luck, Ed whacked the knife out of Barry's hand and the rough tip of the rod sliced the killer's hand. Barry stared at the blood trickling from his palm. He let out another deranged laugh.

Taking advantage of the slim opportunity, Ed scooted out from under the killer and raced toward Winry. Using the tip of the rod, he jiggled her chains with his shaking arm, praying that the chains would fall free. Barry was staggering to his feet. Ed desperately rattled the chains some more. Cold sweat broke out on his skin, making it harder to keep a steady grip on the rod. Winry tugged on her chains trying to get the boy's attention. Ed's blood was throbbing in his ears and he almost didn't hear the urgent noises Winry was frantically making. Ed's eyes darted to where he had left the killer. Barry had retrieved his knife and was advancing on the two twelve year-olds. Ed was torn. The chains showed no sign of coming loose. Uttering a cry of despair, he abandoned Winry and the rod and sprinted for the table. He grabbed his arm, and seeing the blade slicing through the air towards him, swerved. The knife sank into a hanging pig mere centimeters from him.

Ed weaved through the hanging pillars of meat. He clutched his arm knowing it was his and Winry's only hope, although hope for what, he didn't know since the possibility of making it out of there alive seemed very doubtful. With white knuckles, he grasped the auto-mail in his left hand and jammed it into his shoulder dock. The pain was instant and immobilizing. Ed fell to his knees, unable to spare the extra energy to keep standing. Winry visibly flinched and squeezed her eyes shut as Ed's cry of pain echoed in the car.

Barry followed the boy's tortured bellow and brandished the knife once more. Staring helplessly at the blade he was almost sure would end his life, Ed clapped his hands together. He never got to the transmutation. The blade fell and Ed instinctively raised his right arm to block the blow. His mind completely blank with fear, all Ed could do was put death off for a couple seconds at a time with the arm Winry had so painstakingly constructed. The sparks of steel colliding with steel were reflected in Barry's glazed eyes as he repeatedly raised the knife and brought it crashing down against Ed's auto-mail.

Trying to shut out the frightening clang that could soon end in her childhood friend's death, Winry climbed up onto a small table. From the advantage of the added height, she futilely struggled to lift the chains high enough off the hook. Her knees shook violently and the table crashed to one side. Winry swung from the chains and thumped hard into a pig carcass.

With the force of the impact, the carcass skidded on its overhead track and crashed into the back of Barry's head. He fell forward landing on top of Ed. Somehow, with the time given him by the brief distraction, Ed finally completed the transmutation. Barry's crazed assault came to a halt as his sword knocked the knife out of his hand on an upswing. With a hoarse cry, Ed poised his auto-mail blade over the man.

"Niisan, no!"

Ed whirled at the voice, bringing the sword with him. The sharp blade clanged loudly against Al's chest plate. Al placed a metal hand over the dented armor, taking in his brother's haggard and drawn expression and too-bright eyes. "I won't die from just that," he said softly.

Ed dropped his arm and stared at his brother. Relief flooded him and the adrenaline fled him in a rush. He turned tear-brightened eyes up to the suit of armor. "Al," he managed to force out through his frozen lips.

Footsteps pounded in the small car and black boots surrounded the killer. Barry shrugged and smiled as he raised his hands at the prompting of several gun barrels.

Al took in the slices that went up and down his brother's exposed left arm. Blood dripped from each wound. "Niisan, does it hurt?"

A few officers came forward and freed Winry from her chains. Silently, she rubbed her raw wrists and looked at Ed who was still kneeling on the ground. He was hunched over Al's thigh. "I thought he was going to kill me," he rasped. "I thought I was going to die. I was scared," he admitted, his slim shoulders shaking. "I was really, really scared." Al placed a cold, reassuring hand on his brother's back.

* * *

Apparently, Major Hughes had also noticed that the same refrigeration cart went in and out of HQ everyday. Following the same trail of thought that Ed had, they were able to find them in time.

Ed huddled inside a large orange blanket someone had draped over him. Al sat next to him and together they sat in silence against one of the nearby buildings. Lieutenant Colonel Mustang stood near a sedan with Second Lieutenant Hawkeye whose hands rested on Winry's calming shoulders. Winry was also ensconced in a blanket and her small hands were cupped around a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Around them, military cars were parked haphazardly and strobe lights lit the dim area. Soldiers marched in and out, officials shouted orders. None of it reached either brother.

Al finally broke the silence, but he looked straight ahead, not at his brother. "Niisan. The Philosopher's Stone might really exist. But to find it you need to be a State Alchemist." He placed his hand against his hollow chest. "I don't have a body, so I can't feel. I can't even feel the pain that you felt when you thought you were going to die," he admitted. "It's sad and tough." Al's voice trailed off. "I want to return to my normal body. My human body. I want to find the Philosopher's Stone, even if it is something that goes against the flow of the world and is said to be impossible."

Ed didn't say anything. He gave little indication that he heard his brother. Gone were the traces of the brash boy who had defied all odds to become the youngest State Alchemist, leaving the mother-less boy vulnerable like he hadn't been since the day they burned their house. Ed finally spoke. "When I thought I was going to die, I found that all I could do was scream," he confessed hoarsely. "My head became blank."

Ed's voice was soft and tiny. "I thought too highly of myself. I thought I could save someone else." He looked down at his palms, one flesh and blood, the other cold steel. "But our hands are full trying to regain our original bodies. To accomplish that, I don't care if people call me a dog of the military or a devil."

Ed looked up with blank eyes. "But we really aren't devils or even gods." He dragged in a shaky breath. "We're just human," he cried, torment lacing each word of his revelation. Ed buried his face in his hands, covering the hot tears that streamed down his cheeks.

"We couldn't even save Nina." His voice broke and shook with the force of his turmoil. "We're just petty humans."

* * *

Mustang swiveled in his leather chair and considered the boy before him. "A condition?"

Tired and worn, Ed stood before the Lieutenant Colonel's desk fully dressed in his black attire and red cloak. His silver watch lay face up on Mustang's desk. Although his eyes were still red-rimmed from lack of sleep and exhaustion, when he met Mustang's gaze, they were dry. There was no room for tears on the path he had chosen to walk.

"I'll abide the military's intentions. So I want you to give me all the information you have on the Philosopher's Stone," Ed stipulated. "I want permission to search for the Philosopher's Stone when I am not on a mission."

Mustang studied the boy's mulish expression. He had known when Edward first approached him at Central Station that handling this boy would be playing with fire. But who better than he, the Flame Alchemist, to control the flames? He folded his hands under his chin. "Do you want your crime of performing human transmutation known to the public? Your little brother would be carted of to the nearest laboratory and experimented on as the first successful case of soul transmutation." Mustang leaned back in his chair. "I could threaten you by saying something like that," he smirked.

Ed gritted his teeth. Once again, he had played straight into the Lieutenant Colonel's hands. Mustang negligently opened a desk drawer. "But very well," he granted. He pulled out a thin folder and placed it on his desk. "Just so long as you report all your findings to me." He pushed the folder across the desk toward the boy. "Here, the Fuhrer has give you a second name." Mustang chuckled. "It's a rather ironic name."

Confused, Ed picked up the folder and opened it. _We give the name "Full Metal" to thy Edward Elric in the name of Fuhrer King Bradley. _Ed scanned the official military document. He looked up. "'Fullmetal?'" he repeated.

Mustang nodded. "Every State Alchemist is given a silver clock and a second name. The name you will carry is Fullmetal," he confirmed. "The Fullmetal Alchemist."

A scimitar smile slowly spread across Ed's features. "Fullmetal." He rolled the word around on his tongue. "I like that heavy name." His gold eyes met Mustang's black ones. "I will carry it."

* * *

Ed and Al strolled down the streets of Central trailing after an excited Winry. Today was a beautiful day for shopping, she had proclaimed.

Al obligingly clanked along next to Ed. "That killer had nothing to do with Nina," he said quietly.

Ed pushed his coat back and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, he had an alibi that night."

Al was silent. "Then who erased Nina?"

A man watched the two brothers from the shadows. Sunlight glinted off a silver chain attached to the young boy's wide brown belt and disappeared behind his cloak. The man turned away and put his sunglasses back on. The boy had just signed his death warrant.

* * *

* * *

Reviews pls. How're you liking it so far? 


	8. 9 Silver Watch of the Dog of the Milit

Sorry for the less and less frequent updates. Midterms are kicking in along with some other things in my hectic life. But on with the series…

Disclaimer: the same as before.

* * *

**9 Silver Watch of the Dog of the Military**

Winry skipped down the sidewalks of Central City, eagerly taking in the shops and sights the city had to offer. Her floppy, white hat shielded her blue eyes from the midday sun. Her simple cream-colored dress complimented her young figure, blond hair and blue eyes and fluttered with each energetic step she took.

"You're going to have to buy me something special," she said to the brothers trailing after her.

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't it be the other way around?" he said, his hands negligently tucked in his pants pockets. She was the one who came down to congratulate him for becoming the youngest State Alchemist in history, and then he saved her from Barry the Chopper.

"Nope." Winry spun back around. "I fixed your auto-mail, didn't I?" she reminded him.

Resigned, the two brothers followed their childhood friend into shop after shop.

Finally Winry found her candy store. "Look at this wrench," she squealed. "Ed, Al, hurry up!" Spying the wrench, she ran up to it and cradled it in her hands. "Oh, the feel of these things are so good," she cooed, rubbing the handle against her cheek.

"I knew Central would have such wonderful things," she sighed dreamily, ecstatically taking in the displays of tools. "Mister," she called to the shop owner, "Give me five of these," she pointed. Darting to the other end of the store, she pointed again at a set of bolts. "And three of these!"

"Winry." Al's voice stopped her in mid-dash. She tilted her head at the suit of armor. "Don't you have enough souvenirs?" he asked from behind the stack of various boxes he carried.

"Of course not," she pouted. Winry tossed her ponytail over her shoulder and placed her hands on her hips. "Besides, Ed said he'd buy me whatever I wanted. Right, Ed?" she turned to him.

Ed lounged against the door frame. "Yeah," he carelessly agreed, hands still in his pockets. Dressed in unrelieved black, the only color was his blond hair tied back in a simple braid down his back and a hooded red coat.

Winry's brow furrowed a little at his indifferent answer. She spun back around into the store. "Mister," she called again, "give me a discount on this oil."

"Sure" came the owner's reply, happy to oblige his day's biggest customer.

Ed's golden eyes widened in surprise when Winry spun back to him, hand outreached. In her palm lay a travel-size bottle of oil. "Be sure to take care of your auto-mail when I'm not here," she said gravely as he hesitantly reached out to accept it.

The black military sedan pulled up to the curb outside the shop. It wasn't that hard to track down the Fullmetal Alchemist. Although Edward was tiny and unnoticeable, God help you if you ever said that to his face, a walking suit of armor was very conspicuous. Since Ed hardly went anywhere without his brother, it made the soldiers' job easier.

Second Lieutenant Havoc climbed out of the car. "Edward Elric, you are requested back at headquarters."

* * *

Edward stood in front of Lieutenant Colonel Mustang's desk. "M-Mission?" he repeated, stuttering.

"Second Lieutenant Hawkeye will give you the documents," Mustang said, closing the files that lay open on his simple desk.

Hawkeye stepped forward from the side of Mustang's desk where she had been standing quietly. "You will inspect the Youswell coal mines," she told the young boy, handing him the file.

Ed flipped open the file and quickly scanned its contents. "Youswell coal mines?" He turned a questioning gaze on the Lieutenant Colonel.

"You're an alchemist," he said simply. "You have an understanding of ores and their uses." Mustang put his elbows on the desk and rested his chin on his folded hands. "Be happy I gave you an easy task for your first assignment," he smirked.

* * *

Ed sat morosely on the train, staring out the window at the passing scenery. He looked over at Al who sat opposite of him. "You didn't have to come," he said guiltily. "This is a job for a State Alchemist."

"Niisan, don't say that," Al admonished him for even considering going anywhere without him. "Besides," he continued, "it's not like I have anywhere to go."

_Winry stood at the train departure clutching her giant suitcase. Her train was set to leave soon, and right after she left, the brothers would catch their train to the mine. "When are you coming home?" she asked._

"_Winry, we burned our house, remember?" Al reminded her. "We have no home to return to."_

The brothers sat in silence for the rest of the train ride.

* * *

Ed and Al stared at the deserted town. Taking in the simple and worn structures and empty dirt roads, the two eyed their first mission with some doubt. "It's not very lively," Al commented. Before Ed could reply, he was sent flying forward, sprawled face first in the dirt.

A brown-haired boy dressed in a white shirt and brown overalls grinned apologetically. He turned around, swinging around a huge steel beam he carried on his shoulder as he moved. "Sorry about that," he apologized as Ed picked himself off the ground.

The boy eyed their strange clothes and a gleam came into his green eyes. "Hey, are you two visitors?" he pounced on them eagerly. "Do you have a place to stay? We have the best inn here. Dad!" he called before either brother could answer, "we have money spenders."

Ed and Al finally found their voices. "Money spenders?" They looked at each other, confused.

* * *

"Welcome!" a big man laughed, his broad shoulders shaking under his brown shirt. "My son, Khayal, tells me that you need a place to stay."

Ed and Al stood just inside the doorway of the simple inn. The walls and furniture were wood, but the atmosphere was cheerful and the room was clean. Miners enjoying a beer after work sat at the tables, filling the room with their laughter as they swapped stories.

"Just for a night," Ed told the man.

Candlelight glinted in the man's brown eyes. "It'll be expensive," he warned, his thick brown mustache twitching.

"That's fine," Ed responded casually, "I have more money than it looks."

The miner smiled. "Two thousand dollars."

Ed's jaw dropped. "What?"

"We don't get many visitors," he explained. "When we do get some, we have to capitalize on it."

The boy they ran into earlier stepped up next to his dad wearing an identical grin. "All the other places are the same price," he said unabashedly, "'cuz we're the only one in town."

Al and Ed both peered into Ed's wallet. Al looked at Ed who gulped nervously. "I spent a lot of it on Winry," he groaned. He shot Al a look. "I guess I'll have to…" Al nodded.

Soon Ed had gathered a crowd around a table. A pick lay on its side, the handle broken in two. Ed clapped and instantly transmuted it, leaving a completely fixed tool in the middle of the table. The crowd ooh-ed and ahh-ed. "Anything else?" Ed asked, cocking his head.

"This broke a while ago," the owner's wife wove her way through the circle cradling a broken vase, "but I treasure it too much to throw it out."

"Sure," Ed said, gesturing to the table.

The owner, Halling, looked at his wife in surprise. "You still have that?"

"Of course," she answered with a soft smile. "You hardly ever buy me anything." Halling turned red at the guffaws of his men.

"Here you go." Ed handed the vase back to the woman, good as new.

As Ed and Al sat down for a meal, Halling approached them. "Alchemists, huh? I used to study alchemy, but I gave up since I didn't have much talent for it," he admitted. Halling studied the two boys. "What brings you here to Youswell?"

Ed leaned back in his seat, enjoying the warmth of the room. "Just a little inspection," he shrugged.

All the commotion in the room fell silent at his words. Confused, Ed and Al looked around. "You're a State Alchemist?" Halling asked.

Ed barely nodded before he was yanked out of his seat and thrown out of the inn. Once again facedown in the dirt, he saw his suitcase land with a thud next to him. "What the hell?" he screamed, springing back up.

Halling stood in the doorway with his men behind him, silhouetted by the inn's lamplight. "We have no room or food for dogs of the military," he spat. He whirled on the suit of armor hovering nearby. "Are you a State Alchemist, too?" he demanded.

"No!" Ed shouted quickly. "He has no relation to me; he's just some guy I met on the train."

The men grunted. "Fine, you can stay," they said to Al as they returned to their beers. Al caught one last glance of his older brother standing out on the street before the door slammed shut.

Al sat nervously next to Khayal. "You guys really don't like the military," he ventured.

Khayal stabbed his dinner. "Of course not. No one does," he bit out with venom surprising for a kid his age. Of course, Al shouldn't have been surprised. The things he and his brother had accomplished at their age would shock anyone. "The guy who runs this town is a pig named Yoki." Khayal spat out the name like a curse.

"State Alchemists are the worst," Halling said coming to stand behind his son. "'Alchemists do good for the public,'" he recited. "At least that's what I was taught. I can't abide those who sold their soul for military privileges."

Al made a soft noise in his armor, saying nothing.

* * *

"Dammit," Ed swore, trudging around to the back of the inn. He brushed the dirt off his clothes and sat on the wooden platform. He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out the small bottle of oil Winry had given him. "Winry should worry more about the human than the metal." He smiled wryly and began oiling his arm. His stomach gave a loud growl, covering the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Here." Ed turned at the unexpected visitor. Al crouched next to him holding out his dinner tray. "I can't eat it, anyway," he shrugged.

Shooting a grateful look at his brother, Ed eagerly accepted the tray. Al watched Ed hungrily dig in.

"People here really hate the military," Al said breaking the silence.

Ed didn't pause in his quest to soothe his empty stomach. "I knew that," he said between bites, "when I chose to become a State Alchemist."

Al stared out into the empty town. "Maybe I should get one, too. A State Alchemist qualification," Al voiced his thoughts out loud.

"Don't be ridiculous," Ed said, putting down his fork. He, too, looked out at the deserted streets. "Only I should have to bear this burden." He turned back to Al. "I promise I'll find a way to return your body."

A loud commotion of banging wood and yells from inside the inn brought both boys to their feet.

Miners were out of their chairs, staring as a handful of soldiers burst through the front door. A small set man with oily black hair strode into the inn. "Halling," the man said, distaste and disdain dripping from his voice, thin mustache twitching, "your inn is as dirty as ever." He held a snowy white handkerchief to his large nose.

A teenage girl with chin-length black hair, long sleeved black top and short white skirt stepped up beside him. Her knee high black boots lightly tapped on the wooden planks. Yoki smiled at the girl. "You have been falling behind on your taxes," he accused the miners mildly.

Halling stepped forward. "We don't make much," he said by way of explanation.

"That's because you don't work hard enough," the girl returned calmly.

Halling started, but a man in the back beat him to it. "We're working our asses off for you to take our money to use as bribes to get promotions," he yelled angrily, his veins bulging on the sides of his neck.

Yoki dabbed at his nose again. "Then why don't you bribe me?"

"Why, you…" The man lunged forward and charged the sniveling man.

Ed and Al watched from an outside window as the girl smoothly stepped in front of a cowering Yoki and cupped her hands around the large metal-wrought pendant she wore. The circle inside began to spin rapidly and a burst of light filled the room just as a shockwave hit the oncoming man, hurtling him back into his fellow miners.

The men gaped in shock. Sufficiently recovered, Yoki smiled and placed his hands on the girl's shoulders. "Good job, Lyra," he praised sweetly. Lyra smiled.

The First Lieutenant looked around the inn at the angry miners. "I see the rumors of this being a rebel gathering place is true," he sniffed. "I'm going to have to shut it down."

"Don't screw around with us!" Khayal picked up a nearby rag and hurled it at the officer's face.

"Who did that?" Yoki asked as the dirty rag fell from his face.

A soldier grabbed the boy by the arm and threw him on the ground a few feet from Yoki's feet. "Khayal!" his mother cried.

"I see you breed them crude even young," Yoki observed disdainfully. He gestured to a soldier. "Hurt him a little."

The soldier stepped forward, drawing his sword. Khayal's mother buried her face in her hands, unable to watch. Halling took a futile step towards the husky soldier. Yoki closed his eyes, reveling in the power of his authority. His eyes snapped open at the clang of steel against steel.

A young blond boy stood over the cowering boy, his right arm crossed with the soldier's sword. Yoki's jaw dropped. Silence fell upon the inn. "W-What is this?" he stammered.

The teenage boy brushed back his red cloak. "I heard you were coming to visit, Lieutenant Colonel, so I came to greet you," Ed said casually, flashing his silver watch.

Yoki gaped at the boy. "First Lieutenant, who's this kid," the soldier asked in a whisper.

"You idiot," Yoki frantically whispered back, "don't you recognize the watch? He's a State Alchemist. They're an elite group under the direct control of the Fuhrer."

"I'm so sorry for my subordinate's rudeness," Yoki babbled, sidling up to Edward. "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Yoki. I run this humble town." Ed warily eyed the officious man. "Why didn't you let me know you were here," Yoki continued, "I would have sent someone to pick you up. No need for you to stay here."

Now standing by his mother, Khayal glared at the blond boy as he was ushered out of the inn, completely forgetting that the alchemist had just saved him.

"Damn dog of the military," Halling swore at the closed door. Al shifted his feet nervously.

* * *

Major General Hakuro paced the area in front of Mustang's desk. Roy stood at attention behind his desk, Hawkeye beside him. "You'll be transferred to East City to take command there," the Major General said expansively.

"Oh," Mustang raised an eyebrow. "A demotion? I see. If someone like me stayed in Central…"

"Of course not," Hakuro laughed. "It's a promotion, _Colonel_ Mustang," he said, putting emphasis on his new title. "You'll be promoted to Colonel, and Hawkeye there will be promoted to First Lieutenant."

Mustang gritted his teeth. Hakuro chuckled again, enjoying the younger man's discomfort. "Just be careful," he warned. "I hear the east is a dangerous area."

"Congratulations," he tossed over his shoulder as he exited the room.

Roy sank back in his desk chair, Hawkeye still saluting the door as it closed behind the general. She fell at ease and looked questioningly at her commander.

"Looks like we're moving to East HQ."

"Colonel?"

Mustang closed his eyes. "Don't worry, First Lieutenant, I've taken the necessary steps." He smiled.

Hawkeye accepted his cryptic statement, wondering what her superior officer had up his sleeve this time.

* * *

Ed was seated at one end of an expansive dining table, an elegant dinner laid out before him. A chandelier burned brightly overhead and servants in starched black and white ruffled uniforms attentively hovered around him.

"We're so honored to have a State Alchemist in our humble town, Mr. Edward," Yoki gushed from the other end of the table. He gestured to a servant girl standing next to Ed. "Lyra, show him your alchemy."

"Yes," she nodded.

"There's no need," Ed stated. "I saw it. She compressed the air around her creating a powerful shock wave. The light was a result of an adiabatic reaction."

Yoki's eyes bugged. "You figured all that out from one glance?"

"My dream is to become like you, Mr. Edward," Lyra told Ed.

Ed frowned. "Like me?" he echoed dumbly. He didn't understand why anyone would want to become a State Alchemist.

"Yes," Lyra answered enthusiastically, "I want to use my alchemy to serve the state."

Ed turned his attention back to his meal and speared a piece of meat. "You eat very well considering the state of the town," he blandly observed.

"This is nothing," Yoki replied humbly. "I'm sorry we don't have anything better for you, Mr. State Alchemist. Those ruffians make things very difficult."

"I see," Ed said slowly, measuring his words. "You govern this mine, and in exchange, the men work hard and pay you for your efforts. In alchemy, we call this equivalent trade."

"Good," Yoki crowed. "You understand things very well for someone your age." He looked past Ed's chair and gestured slightly with his hand.

A servant appeared at Ed's right elbow, placing a small pouch on the table. Ed stared at the First Lieutenant. "Is this what they call a bribe?"

"Nothing as crude as that," Yoki insisted. "Equivalent trade. You write something nice in your report, and I repay you."

* * *

Al lay awake in his bed in the inn. He heard footsteps pad softly past his door and down the stairs. Unable to sleep anyway, he slipped out of the room to follow the late night wanderer. As Al reached the bottom of the stairs, he felt the walls shake with a loud groan.

On the street, Lyra stood before the inn, hands cupped around her rapidly spinning pendant, the force of the transmutation whipping her short hair around her face.

"Khayal!" Halling hollered his son's name. "Khayal!"

The miners were gathered outside the inn, two brawny men firmly grasping their boss's arms. "You can't go in there. It's going to collapse." Sweat poured down their faces as Halling struggled harder, his muscles straining against his t-shirt. Boards began to fall loose. With a low rumble followed by a series of snaps and cracks, Halling watched in horror as his home collapsed in on itself and his son.

After one final groan, the inn fell silent. Halling easily shook off his stunned workers. "Khayal," he yelled again.

Amidst the rubble, the shards of wood began to move. Halling once again fell silent as his armored guest emerged from the debris holding Khayal in his arms. Bruised and dirty, but unharmed, the boy whimpered, "Papa."

* * *

Ed lay fully clothed on his bed in Yoki's mansion, hands habitually folded under his head. A loud rumble in the distance stirred him. Immediately suspicious, he dashed out of the house.

Sprinting down the dirt streets, the steady pounding of his heavy boots echoed in the deserted town. Approaching the vicinity of the inn, Ed slowed to a stop at the crowd of people. He pushed his way through to see Mrs. Halling weeping in the remains of the inn, cradling her once again broken vase.

Al came up on his side. "It was them," he simply said.

"Hey, aren't you like a great alchemist?" Ed turned at the question. Khayal stood on his left, fighting to hold back his tears. "Can you transmute gold to save my dad?"

Ed met the eyes of the boy who stood only a few inches shorter than he. "Transmuting gold is a felony," he said in an emotionless voice. "They'd take away my qualification."

"Then do it so they don't find out," Khayal persisted.

"No." Ed looked straight ahead. "I have no obligation to help this town," he added dispassionately.

Khayal grabbed the alchemist by his collar. "Do you want a bribe, too?" he cried desperately.

Ed's eyes flared, but other than that, he made no outward movement. "Even if I did, it would all be taken away by taxes." He brushed aside the younger boy's hand. "If it's so bad here, why don't you move?"

"Boy," Halling spoke up from where his wife was still kneeling, "you may not understand, but this is our home and coffin."

Looking down, Ed gave a soft laugh. "Home and coffin, huh?" Ignoring the miners, he turned and strode away stiffly.

Al hurried after him. "Niisan!"

Ed continued stride down the street. "Al," he said, not looking back, "we burned our house when we left and I think that's just fine." A smile flickered across his features. "But for those who have a home still yet, they need to treasure it." Ed stopped in front of a large pile of rocks. He pulled Yoki's pouch out of his pocket.

"Al, keep what you see here a secret."

Al nodded. As if he would have told anyone anyway.

Ed emptied the contents of the pouch onto the rubble. He clapped his hands in front of his chest and placed his palms on the rocks.

* * *

Ed and Al smiled at the First Lieutenant innocently.

"What?" Yoki stammered. "You want to buy the coal mine?"

"Yup," Ed replied blithely. "Everything. The mine, the tunnels that run through it, the trade routes."

Yoki wrung his hands together. He could finally be free of this godforsaken place. But… "I couldn't do that, Mr. Edward. It just wouldn't be right."

"Aww," Ed frowned. "And I have the money, too…" he trailed off. Al opened the door revealing stacks and stacks of gold bars. "The mine has many ores and minerals that are valuable to alchemical research."

Yoki's eyes glazed over, the light bouncing off the gold bars dazzling his eyes. With all that gold he could buy himself numerous promotions. "But it would be immoral to sell this place for a profit," he protested weakly.

Ed scratched his head as if in thought. "I know," he finally said. "Why don't you sign a contract saying that you handed all responsibility and control of the mine to me for free?"

Weakened at the sight of so much gold, Yoki eagerly complied.

* * *

Halling sat in another miner's house, his elbows wearily propped up on his knees. Khayal slammed a fist down on the keg next to him. "Why won't you let me ransack the place," he demanded angrily.

Halling looked at his son's dirty and bandaged face. "No," he said firmly.

The door burst open, silencing Khayal's further protests. The young blond alchemist stood silhouetted in the doorway, the armored boy close behind. "Hi, everyone!" Ed said cheerfully, waltzing in. "Why all the sad faces?"

"How dare you come here." A burly miner stomped over to Ed.

"Is that anyway to treat the new owner?" Ed asked innocently. Al hovered in the doorway.

The miners leaned forward. "New owner?" they repeated amongst themselves. Another stepped forward. "What do you mean?" he demanded.

Ed shoved a piece of paper in the man's face. "It says right here, all control of the mine and its trading routes belong to me."

The men stared at the deed in awe. Ed held the deed between his thumb and forefinger and offhandedly bounced it up and down. "But I'm going to have to go back to Central eventually," he sighed. "This thing will just be in the way…" he trailed off suggestively.

Halling spoke up from his seat. "Are you trying to sell that to us?"

Ed dropped his guileless expression. "It's going to be expensive," he warned.

Halling frowned at having his words tossed back at him.

"This is written on very expensive paper," Ed continued, ignoring the looming miners. "Oh, it's got gold trim. And the case is made of jade and the key here is pure silver."

As Ed examined each piece and assessed its worth, Halling ground his teeth together. The little brat was enjoying this all too much.

Ed met the innkeeper's eyes. "All in all, I'd say its worth about two-thousand dollars," he finished grandly.

The room erupted with hushed whispers at Ed's pronouncement. "Only two-thousand dollars for a deed to the mine?"

Walking over to Halling, Ed extended the papers to him. "And if I remember correctly, boss, it costs two-thousand dollars for food and a night in your inn."

Halling's gaze fell to the proffered papers. "Equivalent trade, huh?" He smiled at the boy's audacity. His smile faded. "But we no longer have an inn," he said, his shoulders dropping.

Ed grinned. "Oh really?" he asked, his eyes wide with innocence. "Then what's that out there?"

The miners rushed outside. There, in the morning light, stood a magnificent inn where the remains had once been.

Smiling cheekily, Ed brushed past the astonished miners. "This should cover one night," he said, carelessly handing the deed to a dumbfounded Halling.

Shaking out of his stupor, he accepted the papers. "Yeah," he agreed hoarsely.

The screech of tires and pounding boots drew Ed's attention. Yoki stood in front of a black sedan, his arms wrapped around himself. "Mr. Elric," he cried, his knees shaking, "all the gold you gave me turned into rocks."

The miners all looked at Ed who thoughtfully scratched the back of his head, confusion written on his face. "Gold?" he repeated. "I thought you gave the deed to me for free." He rummaged in his back pocket. "See you even signed a contract saying so," Ed replied, holding up the paper with Yoki's signature. Several of the miners exchanged grins.

Yoki paled. "This is fraud," he wailed.

"Fraud?" Ed scoffed. "That's mean."

Sniffling with indignation, Yoki summoned for help. "Lyra!"

Ed whirled to see Lyra standing in the middle of the street, hands poised around her pendant. Ed twisted out of the way just as a shockwave blasted past him.

"Alchemists are supposed to do good for the public."

"You're a State Alchemist aren't you?" she demanded, ignoring his statement. "Then why are you going against the military?" She concentrated and let loose another blast.

This time, Ed clapped his hands and held his right arm forward to meet the shockwave, bracing his wrist with his left hand. Blue light radiated from his hand as he absorbed the energy hurtling at him. Lyra gasped as the light dissipated. Ed was still standing. His white glove now hung off his fingers, revealing the auto-mail beneath. "I didn't sell my soul," he said in a low voice.

She narrowed her eyes and focused on another transmutation. Quickly gauging the amount of time to reach her, Ed ran toward her. He clapped his hands, transforming his auto-mail into a steel blade. As the circle's energy built up, about to burst forth, Ed lunged at Lyra, blade poised above his head. In a swift motion, he brought the blade slicing down.

Lyra fell to the ground, knocking the breath out of her. The metal pendant clattered to the ground near her. She winced as pain shot through her abused posterior. Black boots and pants came into view. She looked up at Ed who stood above her, his face expressionless.

Yoki watched despairingly as Lyra fell back to the ground. "Seize it back," he shouted at his men, whirling back to the rest of the audience. He stopped, frozen with bewilderment. His men were pressed together, back to back, facing an outer circle of very hostile, very large miners.

Two beefy miners came up on either side of him. Yoki shrank in on himself.

"We don't take kindly to people trying to take our stuff by force," one growled, cracking his knuckles.

"We can't let that happen, now can we, First Lieutenant," the other growled into his other ear.

The First Lieutenant's cries echoed down the deserted streets and tunnels of Youswell.

* * *

Mrs. Halling laid her hand on her husband's back. "This inn is even more splendid than the last one, isn't it, honey?" she asked, resting her head on his muscular shoulder. She let her eyes roam over the high ceiling and study walls and staircases.

"Yes, it is," he agreed. Halling watched a blushing Al and laughing Ed push away another offered cup of beer. "Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist."

* * *

Hawkeye stepped forward. "Colonel, Edward's report," she said, handing him the stack of papers.

Mustang accepted the papers with a smirk. "You can relax now, First Lieutenant, about East City. Things will be much cleaner now."

Hawkeye started. "You don't mean…?"

Mustang chuckled. "I don't know." He leaned back in his chair. "But I hope the women in the East are beautiful," he mused, studying his nails.

Hawkeye's reddish-brown eyes narrowed imperceptibly. Her long lashes swept down to hide her irritation with her playboy boss. "Their reputations are growing in the East," she continued briskly. "A dog of the military that does good for the public."

* * *

Miles away, a small car puttered along in the desert. "Yeah, I've heard of this Edward Elric," the driver said to his two passengers.

"Oh yeah?" the blond one asked, absently twirling a stick. "What do they say?"

The other occupant of the car gave the smug boy a reproachful glance.

"They say he's a great alchemist. A dog of the military that does good for the public," continued the driver. The boy leaned back in his seat and grinned. "They also say he's a shorty," the oblivious man added.

An explosion rocked the car. "Who are you calling short!" Ed dashed out of the car after the fleeing driver.

"Niisan," Al called after his brother. "You're going to run out of energy before we get to Lior if you keep that up!"

* * *

Alright, I haven't finished episode 10 yet, and probably won't for at least another two weeks. But since I wrote these on a whim, I do have 11 done. So it's up to you guys if you wanna wait. Or I can post 11 and go back and post 10 when I'm finished with it.

Thanks for reading.

* * *

Flower Kid: Thanks for catching the error with Khayal's name. I actually went to go check the website and I've changed a lot of the names for the other episodes that I've already written. 


	9. 10 Thief Siren

Alright. Instead of working on my management paper, I've finished episode 10. I've also corrected a name misspelling in episode 9.

Disclaimer: same as always.

**

* * *

10 Thief Siren **

The train sped steadily away from Youswell back to Central City. Ed clamped a bamboo skewer between his teeth and frowned in concentration, his eyes narrowed.

He reached forward and swiped two cards from the deck. He placed them in his hand and eyed the fan of cards with disgust. The fading sunlight from the window danced over the nine of hearts, deuce of clubs, seven of diamonds, five of spades, and jack of diamonds. A completely useless hand almost mocking him. He peered over his hand at his brother who sat calmly across of him.

The two brothers sat face-to-face in the train seats, Ed's worn suitcase balanced on their knees between them. Serving as a makeshift table, on it sat three piles of cards and the remains of Ed's lunch. After three years of traveling, the brothers had come up with many ways to pass the time on the long train rides back and forth to Central City.

"Hurry up and go," Ed ordered with characteristic impatience.

Obligingly, Al reached for the deck and drew two cards. Ed was hunched over, evaluating his hopeless hand and missed the flash of triumph in Al's eyes. "Niisan, do you wanna double the bet?"

Ed didn't look up. "Do as you like."

Al struggled to keep the smugness out of his voice. "Sorry then." He spread his hand on the table. "Full house."

Ed didn't even glance at the three queens and two tens on the suitcase. "Sorry," he echoed his brother and dropped his hand. "Royal straight flush."

Al gaped at the royal family of spades in disbelief. "No way! I lose again?" With determined swipes of his hands, he raked in the cards. "I'll win next time," he promised.

Closing his eyes, Ed lazily leaned back into the seat and crossed his white-gloved hands behind his head. "Let's quit. It's getting boring."

"What's wrong, Niisan? You've been winning." It was true. Al had yet to win a single game against his naturally competitive brother. But he was getting closer each time. Next time for sure… but still… "Is it getting boring since you're winning too much?"

Ed fought keep the condescending and bored expression on his face. Really, his younger brother was much too compassionate. Mom must've given Al his share. "It's not the cards," he finally said. "It's Colonel Mustang." He flipped over the nearest card. The joker laughed back at him. The perks of being a State Alchemist were many, but he hated being a dog of the military. Especially a dog that answered to one Colonel Roy Mustang.

"You don't want to see him?"

"Of course not," Ed snapped. "The Philosopher's Stone in Lior was a fake, and he won't like it. Just imagine if I report that to him. This is Colonel Mustang we're talking about."

Ed could just picture the smirk on the older man's face. "I wonder what sarcastic things he'll say to me." He picked up a skewer of teriyaki balls and slid one into his mouth. "Just imagining it gives me a bad feeling," he sulked around a mouthful of food.

* * *

"Is it really all right for us to get off the train before our destination, Niisan?" Al shifted uncomfortably as the train sped off the platform.

Up above, a large red sign hung above the small station platform. Welcome to Aquroya. Below it were several smaller bright-colored advertisements for hotels, restaurants and tours.

"It's fine," Ed replied, waving his pork skewer dismissively. "We don't know where we'll get information on the Philosopher's Stone and Aquroya is a tourist spot. It can't hurt to take a look."

"It feels like we're cheating and skipping school," Al smiled.

The skewer flew out of Ed's hand. "Who are you calling a cheater?" he yelled, spinning around to face Al, arms bent belligerently at his sides. A waterfall of cards spilled out of the left arm sleeve of Ed's signature red jacket.

Al hunkered down and stared at the damning cards. A trio of ace of spades stared back up at him. "Niisan, did you…?"

Ed was already running off the platform and into the station. "Wait, Niisan!" Al called after his brother angrily. He grabbed Ed's suitcase and thundered across the station, heedless of the strange glances being thrown his way. "You cheated! You cheated. Niisan, you cheater!"

* * *

It sliced through the night air and landed square in the officer's face, throwing him back down the short flight of stairs. He landed with a grunt next to his two comrades. Puzzled, he pulled the rectangular object from his nose.

It was a playing card.

He gaped at the card, stupefied. How did a simple playing card do that?

A thin figure clad from neck to toe in black vaulted over the wall, nimbly landing on its feet. Short brown hair was covered by a cat-like hat, tawny eyes emphasized by a large light gray eye mask.

"After her! Don't let her get away!" A man ran down the street, gray trench coat flapping. He brandished a pair of handcuffs high in the air, a unit of soldiers close on his heels.

"We'll definitely catch Siren today!"

The dark figure continued sprinting down the pier, slowing as she came to its end. She stopped and turned to face the oncoming brigade. The form-fitting suit hugged her voluptuous figure, the pale skin left bare above her black gloves a shining beacon in the moonlight.

"Okay, this is it for you, Siren," the man said, advancing toward her incapable of concealing his glee. "There's no other way out."

Her thin, red lips curved faintly. From seemingly nowhere, she produced a deck of cards and held them up with three fingers. Completely unaffected by the twenty-odd men that pressed in on her, she tossed the deck into the dark water.

The cards landed with a splash and a reddish pink glow spread into an intricate design across the water's surface. It gleamed for a second, rivaling the full moon's glow, then contracted to a dot that shot across the bay leaving in its wake a waterless path.

The inspector's eyes widened at the Moses-like miracle before him, too startled to stop the thief from making her escape.

He snapped out of his stunned stupor. "Stop!" His yell served as a battle cry, urging him and the troop after the escaping female, only to be meet with six-foot deep water.

Siren easily hoisted herself up onto the bridge at the other end of the bay, amusement lurking in her eyes as she watched the police struggle with their now water-laden uniforms. She smiled down at the clear red jewel balanced lightly in her palm.

* * *

Sunlight reflected off the blue waters of the city's street canals and sparkled on the clean, white buildings of Aquroya. Al marveled at the passing gondolas, well-dressed residents and camera-happy tourists.

"This is a beautiful city, Niisan."

"Isn't it?" Ed replied with a smile, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere. He could almost feel the warm sun loosening the knots of tension that he blamed solely on a certain Colonel Mustang. And maybe a little on the hard train seats. "Aquroya, the water city, is a famous tourist spot." He popped another snack into his mouth. "This is better than looking at the Colonel's cynical face in that dusky East City."

No sooner had those words left Ed's mouth than a horse-drawn carriage sped past, spraying muddy water and drenching the short alchemist from head to toe. Including his newly purchased snacks.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Ed's jovial mood evaporated in a split second as he glared at the back of the already disappearing carriage.

"I see why it's called the water city," Al offered unhelpfully.

Irritated at being dirty and now food-less, Ed clapped his hands and briskly transmuted the filth coating him, ignoring the strange looks he was drawing. The transmutation reaction light dissipated and Ed heard a distinct click. Since when did his reactions click?

With growing agitation, he eyed the handcuff now encircling his right hand. He turned his glower on the man whose wrist he was now connected to. Ed's sharp eyes took in the gray trench coat and hat, quickly summing him up as some sort of investigator. This vacation was rapidly deteriorating on his fun scale.

"What is it, old man?"

At the boy's insolence, the man yanked his hand above his head, bringing Ed's along with him. As it was his auto-mail hand, the jerk of the handcuff didn't hurt Ed at all, but now he dangled from that wrist, the tips of his boots barely brushing the ground. "Come to the station with me," he ordered, ignoring the boy's growing discomfort and animosity. "I want to ask you a few questions."

Ed didn't have the slightest clue why the Aquroya police would want him. Sure, Mustang would probably love to have Fullmetal handcuffed for questioning, but that was in East City. He hadn't done anything wrong in this city that he knew of.

* * *

Even the Aquroya police station was clean and modernized. Unfortunately, in the small, dark questioning room, lit only by a single desk light that Ed was confined to, he was unable to enjoy the novel experience.

Ed frowned at the investigator across of him. His elbows were propped on the table, a skeptical brow raised beneath the brow of his hat. "Oh, so you're a State Alchemist, huh? The famous Fullmetal one?"

At least Ed was getting one good thing out of this unscheduled deterrent. Lunch. In rapid succession that would put any assembly-line machine to shame, he shoveled the bowl's contents into his mouth with a pair of chopsticks. Beside him, Al sat cowed, his bowl untouched.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Ed's irritated response came from behind the bowl and around a mouthful of rice. "This thing is proof that I am." He didn't pause in his mission to devour the consolation food to as much as glance at his silver pocket-watch that lay on the table between them.

"If it's real, then yes," the man conceded, his tone clearly suggesting it wasn't. "How can a midget like you –"

Oh, no, he said it. Al shrank in on himself as much as a metal suit of armor could and braced for the explosion.

Ed's reaction time was as usual frighteningly prompt. "Who are you calling a super midget that makes you want to step on him?" he screamed, bouncing out of his chair, bowl and hands extended waving wildly above his head.

"Niisan, he didn't go that far," Al hissed.

"Now, now, don't get so upset."

Ed's outburst ended as abruptly as it had begun, the young boy once again assuming an air of not so much indifference as annoyance.

"Right now, there's a thief named Siren in this city who appears frequently," the man said, offering the first hint of an explanation as to why they were there.

"Siren?"

Ed ignored his brother's question and the investigator's speech and resumed his seat in the hard, wooden chair. He frowned into his empty bowl.

"We only have one clue about her," the man continued. "She uses alchemy."

His sulking expression never faltering, Ed reached for his brother's bowl and proceeded to devour it in the same fashion he had his own. The sound of his voracious chewing echoed in the tiny room.

The investigator tactfully ignored it. "You're an alchemist, right? That's why I wanted to hear your thoughts."

The only knowledge the young alchemist decided to impart to the investigator was the startling record time of consumption of rice.

* * *

Ed stalked out of the police station back into the sunlight, his hands stuffed belligerently into the pockets of his black pants. "Dammit, that old man," he swore grouchily. "He kept repeating the same question over and over for three hours." He stomped down the streets, his face fixed into a scowl. "What was he thinking?"

"But Niisan, doesn't an alchemist thief upset you a little?" Al calmly strode alongside his temperamental brother. He didn't notice as Ed sank to ground. He did, however, hear Ed's pitiful groan. "Niisan, what's wrong?"

Ed squatted on the steps, his arms wrapped around his stomach. His face was a strange shade of blue – it didn't go very well with his blonde hair or red coat. "My stomach…"

* * *

A spry, elderly doctor spun in his chair. "You have a light case of food poisoning," he cheerfully informed the two boys.

"So it wasn't because you overate then."

"Shuttup," Ed grumpily silenced his younger brother. He _knew_ nothing good would come out of that stupid questioning.

The doctor smiled much too happily for the next five words that came out of his mouth. "Let's give you a shot. Clara," he called over the nurse.

"A shot?" they echoed.

"Yes, a shot."

The room at the end of the wing erupted in yells and clangs of falling objects. "No way! Never!" The short blonde boy was already out of the room and down the hallway when a large suit of armor caught up to him, grabbing him under the arms.

"Niisan, don't move around!" Al commanded, dragging a kicking and sputtering Ed back into the room. "You're not a child. Come on, take off your jacket."

"Stop it, Al. Are you going to betray your brother!"

"You're making me mad, Niisan!" Al retorted.

"No! I hate shots!" Ed's next holler was abruptly shocked into silence by a slim finger. A slim, attractive nurse stood before him, smiling. She wore the light green uniform of the hospital and a small white cap perched atop her short, light brown hair.

"There, I'm done with the shot. It didn't hurt did it?"

Ed gaped at the smiling woman. She was fast. He hadn't even noticed.

A smile still lingering on her lips, Clara put away the syringe with little fuss. She turned back to the belligerent boy and the stunned suit of armor. "Oh, and hurry up and be more mature," she teased.

Mature? This tiny slip of a woman, Ed couldn't pin her any older than early twenties, had the nerve to tell him, the Fullmetal Alchemist, to be more mature? Then again, he could have been a little more adult about the whole shot thing. Chastised, Ed scowled. "That's none of your business."

* * *

"She was a beautiful nurse, wasn't she?" Al sat next to Ed on a bench in the small shaded grove on the side of the hospital. "I stared at her for a while," he admitted.

The afternoon sun glinted off Al's armor and Ed closed his eyes against the glare and laced his fingers behind his head, reflexively cautious as to not snag his hair in the auto-mail.

"You don't have good taste, do you?" The warmth of the sun carried him to a pleasant state of peace and drowsiness. "What's so good about that woman?"

A light voice drifted across the pavilion. "That's not good, Grandma," the voice gently reprimanded. "You have this much left over again."

Ed and Al looked over in the direction the voice was coming from. A frail, elderly woman sat in her wheelchair under a neighboring tree. In front of her kneeled the subject of their conversation.

"I'm sorry," the woman apologized to the young nurse before her. She looked away from the twinkling eyes and down at the almost untouched tray in her lap. "But they just won't pass through my throat."

"That's okay," the younger woman agreed with an understanding smile. Clara reached into the brown cart behind her. "Shall I peel some fruit for you again?" she offered, holding up an apple.

Al's breath hitched when he saw the apple, a faint memory tugging at his mind.

"_Are you okay?"_

"_I'm fine," a ten-year old Edward insisted. He pulled the apple closer to his chest, away from his younger brother's outstretched hand. With firm concentration, he placed the knife against the red skin._

"_You're not doing it right. I'll do it, so give it to me, Niisan."_

"_Just let me do it!"_

_With the ease of years of practice, or maybe it was just a mother's ingrained ability, Trisha plucked the apple and knife from her son's hands and began deftly peeling the apple. In a smooth, continuous motion, she spiraled around the fruit, leaving the skin in one piece. Al gaped at his mother. Ed couldn't have done it like that, no matter how hard he tried. His mom was the most amazing woman in the whole world._

_She handed her two sons the plate, the now skinless apples neatly cut into an even number of slices. "The two of you eat it," she ordered with a soft smile. _

"What are you thinking?" Ed's disgruntled voice broke Al's reverie. Al shook his head and turned toward his brother with a soft clank of metal.

"Miss Clara's not just beautiful," he said, "she's also nice. She might be a little like Mom."

"Idiot. No way. She's totally different."

A clatter resounded in the garden. The plate of apples now lay in shattered pieces on the ground.

"I'm sorry," the elderly woman apologized.

"It's okay, Grandma," Clara reassured the older woman with a smile. "Don't worry about it." She reached down to pick up the pieces, only to find that someone had beaten her to it.

Al knelt next to the young nurse and sketched a few circles and lines into the soft ground around the fallen pieces. He placed his fingers on the rim of the circle and the apple was transmuted back to its original form in a quick flash of light. Clara's turquoise eyes widened.

"Here you go." Al offered the fruit back to her.

Her eyes narrowed slightly on the two figures crouched down in the dirt. "You kids are alchemists?"

"Elric! Mr. Elric!" The inspector dashed through the garden, his trench coat once again flapping in his own frenzied wind. He skidded to a halt in front of a once again irritated teenage alchemist.

"You're persistent, aren't you?" Ed glared at the huffing and puffing man. "I'm not a thief," he repeated for what had to be the fifth time of the day.

"I know, I know," he panted. "Actually, there's a favor I wish to ask of you."

A favor? Well that was a nice change. In a moment of extreme graciousness, Ed decided he could spare a few moments to hear the man out.

* * *

Over twenty police officers stood at attention on either side of a long table. The table itself was a four by fifteen mass sea of oyakodonburi bowls. At the head sat one very satisfied Edward Elric and a rather embarrassed Alphonse.

"Salute to State Alchemist Edward Elric!" The officers lining the walls all snapped a smart salute to the blonde alchemist.

For his part, Ed didn't see any of it. All he could see was the bottom of the bowl currently held to his mouth.

The inspector leaned toward the young alchemist, his hands rubbing together in a plea for forgiveness. "As you suggested, I contacted Colonel Mustang of East Headquarters. Then I found out that you are a State Alchemist. I completely misunderstood."

"That's what I said, wasn't it?" Ed grumbled. This man's blatant obsequiousness was ruining his very, very good meal. Ed had to admit that a bowl or ten of oyakodonburi went a long way in winning his forgiveness. He was feeling much more benevolent now, well, relatively.

"Yes," he quickly agreed at the boy's accusation. "Actually, I have a favor to ask of you –" He stopped mid-sentence.

Ed thrust the now empty bowl at him. "Seconds, please."

"Have as much as you want," he invited, motioning at the remaining fifty-nine bowls.

Oh yes, Ed was feeling much more benevolent.

* * *

"Now that you're on our side, we're safe. Today is Siren's end."

Both brothers examined the ceiling-to-floor plexi-glass cylinder that protected a pedestal holding an ornate, jewel-encrusted vase. It was rather ugly in Ed's opinion, but who was he to judge.

"Yeah, I'll give it a try." Ed turned his attention out the window to the huge crowds pressing in on the closed walls encircling the mansion. A huge throng of people anxiously awaited Siren's next strike with cheers and large posters proclaiming their love for her. "Still, there are a lot of people out there," he observed.

"Yeah. I don't know what Siren is thinking. She sends out her crime intentions to all the newspaper publishers, so reporters, spectators and Siren fans gather."

"She must be pretty popular," Al observed with quiet admiration.

"That popularity is going to end today," the inspector resolved. After months of frustration, he was finally going to catch the cocky, elusive thief. "I'm counting on you, Sensei. I'm going to go see how security it doing."

Al watched the inspector take his leave. "Niisan, I'm surprised you accepted this job."

"I was interested." Al turned at his brother's simple reply. "In this alchemist thief," Ed finished.

* * *

Over a dozen police stood guard around the perimeter of their rooms, their eyes trained on the area surrounding the treasured vase.

A faint blue light trailed a line across the ceiling a meter away from the protective cylinder. In its wake, it left a clear liquid that beaded and dropped to the floor. Midway there, it burst, obscuring the room in thick smoke.

Ed covered his eyes with his right arm and blinked furiously to clear them. "Shit." He peered through the smoke and made out a black-clad figure standing in front of the vase.

"Hold it right there," he yelled, sprinting towards the cylinder. A flash of red caught his eye as it flew past his cheek. Puzzled, he stopped and turned to see what it was.

Al was plastered to the wall, with what appeared to be cards pinning his torso, arms and head.

Ed spun back around to the vase just as a round piece of glass clattered to the floor. The thief glanced back at the blonde teenager, a single card held carelessly between slim fingers. With her other hand, she reached into the hole she had carved and grabbed the slim vase. Beneath the cover of smoke, she ran out the only door, her heeled boots muffled against the carpeted floor, Ed following close on the thief's heels.

* * *

Siren ran past a series of buildings, enjoying the feel of the cool night air against her skin. She no longer heard the heavy footsteps of the blonde kid. She must've lost him.

She slowed to a stop at the cement bridge ahead and gasped. In the center of the bridge stood the kid, his red cloak and long hair motionless in the still wind.

He leveled piercing golden eyes at her. "Alchemy has a variety of uses," he said. "But I won't allow you to use it for stealing." Ed could almost taste the bitterness in his mouth. It was people like this guy that got him thrown out of houses and locked up in jail cells. "And I was treated like a thief because of you!" He clenched a fist and shook it in front of him. "You better apologize," Ed snapped.

An almost apologetic look entered the thief's blue eyes as she looked down at the deck of cards held in her hand. In a brief flash, the cards shot upwards end-to-end into the sky.

Ed quickly recovered from the shock at witnessing the thief's unusual alchemy technique and threw himself to the side just as the sword of cards sliced by. Enraged, he twisted his body in midair and turned to land a punch. Siren stood akimbo, the length of cards held at ready like a katana. Ed's fist connected with the cards and the momentum carried both of them to the ground. The sword of cards scattered, fluttering to the water beneath the overpass.

Ed straddled the black figure, pinning the thief down. "Caught ya."

Suddenly, he became painfully aware of a soft substance beneath his hand. He gave it a tentative squeeze. It was a … She was a … With a strangled yelp, Ed leaped off Siren, his face as red as his coat.

"A…a woman," he managed to sputter, pointing an accusing, albeit shaking, finger at the thief on the ground.

Siren sat up with a soft chuckle. Ed winced, how could he have not noticed? Well, it _was_ dark, he defended himself.

"Too bad I can't show you my face," she crooned. The fifteen year-old's gaze was riveted on her right hand as it grasped the zipper at the throat of her costume. She drew it down slowly. "I'm really beautiful." The black material parted to reveal an intricate tattoo on her chest and another deck of cards nestled above her breasts.

Recognition dawned when Ed saw the transmutation tattoo, but too late. The tattoo flashed red and Ed was hurled backwards onto the cement. He swore at the cards pinning him to the cold ground. "Dammit, what did you do?" he yelled at the woman.

"Kids need to go to sleep soon," she replied with a smile, zipping up her suit. "Little midget." She blew him a kiss and dashed off into the night.

Ed remained motionless on the bridge, unable to chase after the infuriating woman. His muscles bunched as he struggled against the cards. "Who'd you call an ultra hyper midget!" His enraged yell bounced off the cement walls and would probably lead Al to him later.

* * *

"Al." Ed's voice rang down the halls of the Aquroya hospital once again. "Al!"

He fiddled with the sleeves of his coat. He had fixed the holes that damn thief's cards had left the night before. First mud water, then cards. His poor coat. "Where did he go, dammit?"

He paused in front of a partially open door. The lights in the room were off, but sunlight filtered in through the shuttered blinds. The room was sparse, just a table and four potted plants on top of it.

A slim nurse stood at the table, clad in her hospital whites. It was the same nurse that had given Ed the shot the day before. Clara. Ed watched silently as she stripped off her coat and unbuttoned the top buttons of her blouse. His eyes narrowed on the alchemic tattoo she exposed on her chest. The black lines glowed red, and the plant in front of her disintegrated.

Ed stepped into the room. Clara's head jerked up at the slight creak of the floor under his heavy boots. "You."

"I'm shocked." Ed rested his gloved hands on his hips. "The kind, good-hearted nurse is actually Thief Siren."

Clara dropped her eyes demurely. "What are you talking about? I just came to pick up medicine." The soft tones of her voice were distinctly different from the low, husky tones of Siren's. But she couldn't hide the wispy brown hair or the still-exposed tattoo.

"Yeah, the medicine you transmuted with alchemy, you liar."

The nurse's eyes hardened. The bright turquoise darkened to a dark shade of brown. "'Liar' was a bit unexpected." She pulled off the hospital cap and tilted her head to the side, now more resembling the cocky thief she was. "I'm very beautiful like I said, aren't I?"

Ed marched up to her, oblivious to her charms. "That's not the problem," he said angrily, glaring up at her.

"Niisan!" Al's voice drifted into the room, preceding the suit of armor. "Niisan, emergency!" He fell silent. "Is something wrong?" Ed was still glaring at Nurse Clara and hadn't even acknowledged Al's entrance.

"Yes, something's wrong." Ed pointed at the tiny white pill atop the green stem where the purple flower had once been. "She's Siren. Look. That transmutation circle on her chest is proof."

Al looked to the kind nurse for an explanation.

"Life is complicated," she murmured.

Ed cocked a skeptical eyebrow at his brother. Al was such a sucker for sob stories.

"You kids might not understand."

"What!" Ed whirled back around, his braid flying behind him, eyes ablaze with indignation. This girl had no right to tell them what they understood or didn't.

"We do."

Ed spun back around again to face his brother. "Huh?"

"I just heard that this hospital is going to be demolished," Al told his brother quietly. He lifted his eyes to the nurse-thief. "Clara, you steal stuff to save the hospital, even though you don't want to, right?" The woman looked up, startled at the boy's compassion. "Isn't that right, Miss Clara?"

"Yes." She closed her eyes and looked away. "Yes, I don't want to be a thief, but I had to be the one to save the patients." A lone tear glistened on her cheek.

"Just as I thought. What a kind person."

Ed lowered his gaze to the floor. An alchemist thief who stole to save hospital patients.

Hollers were heard from outside. "Sensei! Sensei!" The police inspector burst into the dark room. "We've received another statement from Siren –"

"Is something wrong, Sensei?"

Ed regarded the man silently, ignoring the woman behind him. The thief who stole for the good of the people.

* * *

"It seems like there's less security this time," Ed observed.

Ed and Al appraised the new target hidden from sight in a grove of trees across the street. A torii graced the front steps to a flashy shrine-like architecture. Gold and purple glinted from the rooftops, a stark contrast to the drabber, surrounding buildings.

"Yes, the man in this mansion is a very cautious man. He has a little trap set up inside."

"A trap?" Ed repeated.

"You'll find out if you watch. This will truly be Siren's end." The inspector's lips curled in anticipation. "But there's always a small chance that something will go wrong. I'm counting on you if that happens." With that parting comment, he tiptoed out of the shelter of trees.

Al stared at the mansion. "What are you going to do, Niisan?"

Al was too soft. But was he being soft, too? Or was Siren really just created to save those people?

* * *

A clear liquid seeped under the thick double doors of the dark room. Congealing slightly, it rose up and with hand-like motions opened the lock.

Siren approached the lit pedestal in the middle of the bare room. The large ruby set in the middle of the jeweled pocket watch winked back at her. This was almost too easy. She closed her fingers over her prize.

A soft grating diverted her attention upwards. A panel slid open in the ceiling above and cage bars slammed to the floor. Siren spun around, her eyes frantically searching for a nonexistent escape.

A hissing noise filtered through her panic. As the floor beneath her shook and began to crack, jostling the iron bars, Siren's red lips turned up into a smile. Really, this was too easy.

* * *

She stopped running when she saw the blonde teenager. Ed waited a few blocks away from the mansion, right at the water's edge. She started again, passing him, then stopped.

"Why did you save me?" She didn't turn around and neither did he.

"I didn't save you," he replied plainly, his shoulders hunched over. "There are times when one must do evil. That's what I think. If doing evil will save the hospital."

The woman giggled.

Ed's unease with his actions gave way to anger. "What's so funny?" he demanded to her back.

Clara turned back to face the young boy. "You talk as if you're a grown-up," she smiled.

"I am a grown-up!"

"That's true." She put a slender finger to her lips as if considering something. "Then I'll have to return the favor as a grown-up woman." Siren walked over to the young alchemist and bent down. "Is there anything you want me to do for you?"

"Tell me just one thing." Ed couldn't bring himself to look the woman thief in the eye. He kept his gaze trained on a tiny spot near his foot. "If you're an alchemist, you know about the Philosopher's Stone, right? Give me any information you have on it." He finally raised his chin. "I need to get a hold of that stone no matter what."

Siren's robin-blue eyes clouded. "Sorry, I don't think I can help you there." Ed's disappointment was thick in his throat. "But, instead, tell me when you find out where that stone is and I'll steal it for you," she offered. She straightened and walked away.

"Hey," Ed called her back. "I'm glad you're able to save the hospital," he said grudgingly.

She smiled. "Thanks to you."

* * *

An explosion rocked Aquroya bright and early the next morning.

Ed and Al stood agape at the pile of rubble before them. Atop the heap of demolished cement and wires lay a white sign with the hospital red cross. In front of the mess was posted a sign: For Sale.

"What's with this? Don't tell me we were tricked."

"That can't be! Miss Clara wouldn't do such a thing," Al defended vehemently. "Maybe there's been a mistake somewhere."

Ed turned on his naïve brother. "The mistake is in your head! You went coo coo over Clara!"

"That's mean, Niisan!"

"You mustn't fight." A sharp voice cut through their argument just as it began to heat up. "It goes against God's will."

Ed and Al turned to face the new voice. They stared disbelievingly at the sight before them. Clara stood garbed in head to toe in a nun's outfit, a rosary clasped between her hands.

"Miss Clara."

Ed's greeting wasn't quite so friendly. He hated being tricked. "You…"

* * *

She escorted them back to the tiny chapel ensconced between a small grove of trees along the edge of the city on the water.

"I'm mortified over the incident with the hospital," she confessed to the two boys. She lifted pleading eyes upwards at the cross. "I tried to save it, but I couldn't make it in time. It was so mortifying, I became a nun."

"Miss Clara!" Al clasped his hands, moved by her words.

Ed rolled his eyes heavenwards. In the house of God was probably the best time to ask Him to grant him patience. "Uh-huh."

"It's true," she insisted fervently. "Those who believe are saved. And there are many other things that need saving." Clara turned her face up to the light streaming in through the chapel windows. "Like this monastery! It's going to be demolished soon too." She dissolved into sobs, burying her face in her hands.

Al moved to her side. "Just as I thought. Yes, please try to save this place this time," he beseeched her. "We'll be rooting for you."

Ed didn't move from his spot next to the pews, arms crossed in front of his chest. Really, his brother was much too soft.

* * *

Al burst into their hotel room in Hotel Aquroya. "Niisan, it's an emergency!"

Ed looked up from the bed he was reclined on. He was stripped down to his tank top and boxers. "What?" Ed managed to infuse an entire sentence worth of irritation into that one syllable.

"The city is in an uproar because Siren appeared again! That monastery is surely saved now!"

* * *

Another explosion rocked Aquroya the next bright and sunny morning.

Once again, the brothers stood shell-shocked in front of yet another "For Sale" sign and pile of rubble. Only this time, a shiny gold cross lay haphazardly atop the debris.

"Maybe there's been a mistake somewhere," Al repeated. "Right, Niisan?"

"Are you an idiot?" Ed snapped at his brother. "Quit believing in people so easily. She's a swindler! She's playing us and is probably laughing at us right now!"

"You don't have to say it like that, Niisan!" Al yelled back.

"You mustn't fight. Stop, boys." A brisk, authoritative voice sliced through their quarrel.

The brothers turned to face the voice and Ed let escape a muffled yelp. Clara stood before them once more, now clad in a dusk rose-colored suit. Her light brown hair was caught up in a ponytail, her eyes behind pert-rimmed glasses.

"You! What are you supposed to be with that outfit?"

Al looked at the young children holding her hand, clustered around her. "I get it. You became a schoolteacher, didn't you? You're working hard for a school that's going to get demolished soon." Al took a few clanking steps forward, eager to put his faith in her innocence. "That's right, isn't it, Miss Clara?"

Clara eyed the anxious suit of armor almost begging in front of her. "Yes," she hedged. "Right. Nicely done."

Ed had enough. "Stop fooling around," he bit out. "What are you? Are you just a criminal, a thief who steals and uses alchemy for her own good?" Ed was so fed up. Fed up with his naïve brother and even more so, fed up with this woman who tricked him not once, but twice.

"I don't know about that," she said. "You're an adult, right? Think with your head."

* * *

The two brothers trudged through the streets side by side as tourists streamed around them on either side.

"Extra! Extra!" A newspaper boy waved the newest print high in the air. A group quickly congregated around him, eager for the latest word. "It's another statement from Siren!" The crowd gathered, and soon the boy had sold all his papers. The publishers just had a field day with Siren's announcements.

Ed and Al approached one of the residents of the city. He leaned against the fountain, smiling as he read the day's paper. "Why are you guys so happy about it?" Ed asked. "Siren's just a criminal, isn't she?"

The man peered at the boy over the leaves of paper. "What are you talking about? Siren's the patron who saved Aquroya City. She's a star of hope."

"A star of hope?"

"This city of water, Aquroya, sinks down into the ocean a little every year," he explained. "The entire city is going to disappear into the lake in five years. Because of that, everyone has run away from the city. It was sad before Siren appeared. But thanks to Siren, the city has become filled with life again." He glanced around the bustling town.

"Reporters have come here from around the country and more tourists have come to catch a glimpse of Siren. Aquroya has been given a chance to live once again before it disappears into the lake."

Ed and Al thanked the man. Steeped in thought, they wandered wordlessly to the outskirts of town.

"What do you think this means, Niisan?" Al surveyed the vast body of water, its crystal surface reflecting the sun's rays. "Is Miss Clara trying to save the city by being a thief?"

"I don't know," Ed admitted. He sat on the edge of what might have once been a pillar of a building that had succumbed and sunk into Mother Nature. "But there's one thing I'm sure of," he continued in a low voice. "She tricked me. Me, the Fullmetal Alchemist. For that, I'm going to get some payback." He lifted his face to the sun, closing his golden eyes.

* * *

Siren silently paddled along the water's surface. "I thought you would come, little boy," she called.

Ed stood in a gondola about twenty feet in front of her. The full moon hung large and bright overhead, casting a bluish-white glow on the lake.

"This is romantic. A date on top of the water," she teased.

"Shut up, thief woman."

"Oh?" Siren's voice was laced with faked surprise and innocence. "But you're the same as me. You want the Philosopher's Stone right?" She stripped off her mask. There was no longer any need for pretenses. "The feeling of wanting something. We're the same."

"Maybe," the younger alchemist answered brusquely. "But we have our differences. How important alchemy is to us and what we carry."

She closed her eyes. "Let's begin, little boy," she invited. Siren grasped the zipper of her suit and pulled. Immediately red light crackled and encircled her boat. Twin water dragons surged out of the lake and slammed into an unprepared Ed's boat.

The boat splintered and the force of the impact sent the State Alchemist hurling through the air then into the water.

"I did it." Clara's eyes were trained on the spot where the boy had disappeared.

No sooner than the words had left her mouth, blue electricity enveloped the area around her. Ed kneeled at the floor of the man-made lake, his hand pressed against the cement bottom. An enormous hand lifted the thief's boat out of the water, sending gallons of water cascading down.

Siren's eyes widened at the marvel of alchemy wrapped around her. She had lost. She closed her eyes as the hand fisted shut around her.

Ed grinned triumphantly, but the sense of victory was short-lived. A burning sensation in his lungs reminded him that he was still underwater. He madly pushed upwards, clamoring for the surface, the weight of his clothes hindering each flailing movement. He really needed to get new clothes.

* * *

Siren accepted the silver manacles with grace. "You were wonderful, little boy," she complimented the dripping, gasping Ed. "You'll become a good man. When that time comes, let's battle again. But next time, as man and woman."

Dozens of policemen stood in lines, just in case Siren decided to elude them once more. The inspector hovered at her elbow, unwilling to let such a catch slip out of his grasp.

"Miss Clara."

Ed could only heave large pants of air. Siren leaned down to the boy. "Let me tell you something nice about the Philosopher's Stone."

At the mention of the stone, Ed's head snapped up and his eyes sharpened. "Head to the city of Xenotime. I heard there's some research going on there on the Philosopher's Stone."

Gold met blue. "Xenotime."

* * *

The afternoon took on a yellow glow as the sun set on Aquroya as the train pulled out of the city. Ed held yet another bowl of food, picking at it with his chopsticks.

"Are you still mad?" He addressed his younger brother. Al sat on the seat across of him, knees drawn up, eyes trained out the window at the passing scenery. "I had to do it, you know. She was just a criminal." Ed stared at the contents of his bowl.

"No, you're wrong," Al finally burst out. "She wasn't just a criminal." He didn't turn to face his brother. "You even said that there are times when one must do evil. Miss Clara is a kind person. I know you felt the same way, Niisan." Al leveled his gaze at a disheartened Ed.

Ed made uttered a noncommittal sound. The donburi in his hand was barely touched. "I'm not sure of that." Did he really do the right thing? Was what she had done really that wrong?

* * *

The armored carriage rolled through Aquroya carrying the infamous Siren.

Clara leaned forward to get the attention of the inspector and guards who accompanied her. "I'm a little hot," she said sweetly. "Could you lower the zipper on my chest?"

Yelps echoed throughout the city followed by an explosion. It wasn't even morning yet this time.

A black-clad figure sprinted down the streets, the clack of her boot steps echoed off the darkened buildings. The city was waiting for Siren's next strike.

* * *

A/N: After watching the episode over and over, I still haven't determined Clara's eye color. I swear that in some scenes it's blue and other times it's brown. So I decided that it can be both. If anyone knows for sure otherwise, please let me know. Thanks. 

Arigatoo much for the great reviews. It was probably your guys' encouragement that drove me to finish this episode as well as 12, not just procrastination.


	10. 11 Gravel Earth part 1

Episode 11…sorry you guys, you'll have to wait for episode 12. Not that I'm not done with it, but I need time to finish episodes after that.

On with the show….

Disclaimer: as always, it's not mine.

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* * *

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11 Gravel Earth – Part One

Ed and Al paused at the outskirts of Xenotime. Al surveyed the town before them. An aura of neglect clung to the buildings; cracking and peeling paint and overgrown lawns lined the streets. The houses were large, if not simple, but there seemed to be no life in the town.

Al cast a dubious glance at his brother. "Is the Philosopher's Stone really in a desolate city like this? I can't believe that this place was once prosperous with gold."

"That's all the more reason for them to do research on the Philosopher's Stone," replied Ed, shading his eyes against the late afternoon sun that cast an orange-yellow tinge on the city. He resumed walking and started down into the city, anxious to pursue their newest lead. He had insisted that they leave on the first train out the morning after he captured Siren.

"What do you mean?" Al followed his brother, Ed's suitcase firmly grasped in his metal hand since he knew Ed was exhausted from the trip from Aquroya, although he would never admit it.

"Now that they can't mine gold from the mountains, they're probably trying to transmute the Philosopher's Stone. This place used to produce gold, so no one would suspect gold that came out of here."

Al's hollow footsteps clanged against the uneven ground. "The ideas adults come up with sicken me." Ed silently agreed, but didn't say anything.

* * *

"Elisa!" A man's alarmed shout echoed in the mountains. He hovered over an overturned mine cart. Wedged between the hard dirt and rock and the heavy cart was a little girl. "Everyone, give us a hand!" he called to the other miners.

Three other men came up and placed their broad shoulders against the cart and pushed. "Damn, it won't budge," one man swore between clenched teeth.

The brown-haired girl looked up, tears streaming down her baby-soft cheeks. "Papa," she pleaded.

Her father knelt down. "Don't worry," he reassured her, "I'll help you out of there."

"What's wrong?" Ed and Al rounded the corner, having followed the man's shouts.

The man turned to the huge suit of armor and blond teenager. The guy in the metal suit looked big and strong. "My daughter is stuck under this," he explained, desperate for any help. His eyes widened in surprise as the young boy walked up to the cart.

Ed crouched down to examine the cart. It had been derailed and the edge of the cart had caught on a rock. The unstable prop was all that kept the heavy metal from crushing the girl. He finally turned his attention to the girl. She looked about seven years old. "Just bear with it a little longer, okay?"

Elisa mutely nodded. Her tears had stopped, but her green eyes were still bright.

Ed strode to the other end of the cart, opposite Elisa. The men watched, befuddled. How could a scrawny little boy like that save the girl? Ed clapped his hands and placed his white-gloved palms against the splintered wood.

Blue light enveloped the cart and Elisa covered her head in terror. The light quickly dissipated. Elisa tentatively lifted her arms and peeked out. The men gawked. Standing next to the tracks, the cart was now a solid block of iron.

* * *

"This is great!" Townspeople crowded around the two newcomers. "I didn't know we had an alchemist in town. Thank you so much!" Ed and Al deflected their praises and thanks. The food set before them was thank you enough.

Elisa peeked over the table at her savior's companion. "Thank you, too, armor daddy."

Al was thunderstruck. Ed snickered. "No, we're brothers," he explained. "He's my little brother."

"Little brother?" Elisa repeated, looking at the armored man then again at the boy. "Even though he's bigger than you?"

Ed snarled and it was Al's turn to enjoy a good laugh at his brother's expense. "Anyway, I'm glad you didn't get hurt, Elisa."

The good-natured laughing and conversation came to a halt when the door slammed open. A slim, dark-haired man panted in the doorway. "Elisa! Is Elisa okay?" His hair was short and combed all to one side. Like most of the men in the town, he wore a plaid shirt and suspenders, although, he was much slimmer than most of the town's male inhabitants.

"Mr. Belsio!" Elisa brightened at the man's arrival. Her father gripped her arm and stopped her from running to give the man a hug. "Papa?" She looked up at him questioningly.

"How dare you come here? You made Elisa work there," he raged at Belsio. He turned back to his daughter. "Listen, Elisa, no matter what anyone says, you mustn't help Mr. Belsio out."

The man in question looked down, studying the door frame. "No." His chin jerked back up at Elisa's refusal.

"Mr. Belsio didn't do anything bad," the little girl insisted. I'm the one who wanted to help him out." Her argument dissolved in a fit of coughs.

Her father grabbed a glass of water off the table and handed it to the girl. "Sorry, here, Elisa, drink this." Her violent coughs subsided as the cool liquid soothed her throat.

Belsio placed the basket of lemons he carried on the table. "Sorry," he apologized before closing the door after him.

Elisa looked at the closed door then at the basket of lemons. "Mr. Belsio said that your lemon pie was the best, Dad, and it's sad that there aren't many farms left."

One of the townspeople piped up. "Once the Philosopher's Stone is complete, the city will prosper again," he said confidently. "Then we can buy fruits." The crowd murmured in agreement.

"The Philosopher's Stone?" Ed thought he had heard wrong. Not many people knew of its existence, much less conversed about it openly in public.

"Yes, yes." A man turned to them. "You two came to help with Mugear's research, didn't you? The Philosopher's Stone research."

"Huh?" Ed was sure he must have missed a step somewhere along the way.

Ed and Al found themselves backed against the wall, crushed between the stone and the anxious townspeople. "Mr. Alchemist, please help make the Philosopher's Stone. We want to regain the city of gold, Xenotime. Please."

Ed shot a bewildered look at Al. "It seems like things are complicated, but I guess I'll try talk to this Mugear person." Diplomacy definitely was not one of Edward Elric's strong points.

"By all means, do so. By the way, may we hear your names?"

"Our names?" Ed grinned cockily and thrust a thumb at his chest. "I'm Edward. Edward Elric."

"And I'm the little brother, Alphonse. Alphonse Elric."

Their introduction drew murmurs from the crowd. "The Elric brothers? The State Alchemist?"

Ed nodded. The name Edward Elric was rather famous and he was damned proud of it. His eyes popped open in surprise as he felt a large hand grab him by the scruff. He fleetingly toyed with thought that it was appropriate for a dog of the military to be treated so. His amusement quickly vanished as the hand tugged and the room began to spin.

The world came to an abrupt halt when Ed's face collided with hard dirt. Slightly dazed, he pushed himself off from the cold dirt road only to be knocked back down as his suitcase came flying after him. He spun back to the house, golden eyes flashing angrily. "What was that for?" he demanded. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Al also dusting himself off. He glowered at the crowd gathered in the doorway. It was one thing for him to be kicked out, but treating his little brother the same way was inexcusable.

"Shut up," the man at the door yelled. "The real Elric Brothers are up there!" He jabbed a finger up at the mountain where a lone mansion was perched on a ledge. "Come again when you feel like telling us your real names." The slamming of the door punctuated his order.

* * *

Shadowed in darkness, the mansion sat on the mountainside imposing and unapproachable. Of the fifty rooms, only one window was illuminated with yellow light. In the room, a tall, light blond boy held up a flask to the light, examining the clarity of its contents. He squinted at the red liquid, ignoring the lock of yellow hair that fell over his right eye. Hovering near his elbow was another boy, years younger, with short, cropped hair of the same shade.

Above the masks they both wore, the older boy's blue eyes glinted with determination while the younger's reflected doubt and worry.

* * *

Ed peered around the corner of the stone wall, the coldness seeping through his glove, numbing his left hand. "I wonder who the hell is using my name."

Al worried his hands nervously. "Niisan, are you really going to sneak in?"

"Of course." Ed spun away from the wall, dismissing the two armed men guarding the entrance. "I'm gonna catch those imposters and get information on the Philosopher's Stone from them."

The brothers tiptoed their way past the guards alongside the house and hid in the relative safety of the shadows. After the patrolling guard had passed, Ed briskly clapped his hands and placed them against the stone wall.

Al stood behind his brother's smaller frame, the large armor blocking most of the blue light from the watchful eyes of the patrol.

* * *

Inside the laboratory, the two brothers started at the blue light that illuminated the window. The younger boy turned to the teenager, his voice tiny. "Niisan, that was…"

"A transmutation reaction," finished the older boy. His blue eyes never left the window.

* * *

Cold air wafted into the library from the open slate door Ed had transmuted. Oblivious, the brothers perused the room's contents. "Look, this is all data regarding the Philosopher's Stone."

"Then are they really trying to create the Philosopher's Stone here?"

"There's no doubt about it." Ed was already engrossed in a thick blue text he pulled off one of the many dusty shelves.

The door creaked open. "This is a restricted area."

Ed and Al both turned towards the open door. A tall, blonde teenager stood negligently in the door frame, hands tucked into brown trousers. The sleeves of his white collared shirt were absently rolled up to his elbows. From behind him peeked out a boy of about eight in a green jumper and matching headband and earflaps.

"You guys must be…"

"So you've appeared, you imposters!" Ed took a threatening step forward.

The mysterious teenager eyed the two intruders. The armor reached almost the top shelves, and the boy with the blonde braid and red jacket came up to about his breastplate. "So you must be the real Edward," he mused.

Al was dumbstruck. "Me?" He pointed a questioning finger at himself.

Ed's irritation at being impersonated then overlooked by his impersonator exploded into anger. "No, no!" He yelled, waving his arms furiously. "I'm the real Edward. Me."

The younger boy picked the wrong moment to find his courage and voice. "Huh? You're the older brother?"

The familiar mistake still had the power to rile Ed like nothing else. "Do you have a problem with that?" he growled, baring his teeth, his intense golden eyes burning with irritation.

The boy flinched at the intensity of Ed's golden gaze, retreating back behind his brother. The older one merely smiled. "Don't get so steamed up," he admonished mildly. "The guards are gonna catch you."

At that sobering truth, Ed's anger fled. The other blonde boy stepped into the room and strode towards the brothers. "So, the real little brother wears armor, eh? He doesn't look fourteen at all."

"Did he do research on us?" Al whispered.

His even strides came to a stop two feet in front of Ed.

"What?" Ed drawled irritably. "You want to fight?"

"If you two go home quietly, I won't fight." The boy looked down at Edward. Ed barely reached his collarbone. "Let us be like this for a while."

Ed's finely honed radar picked up the light jab instantaneously. "Is that supposed to be the attitude of a person asking for a favor?" He pointed a finger to the cold stone floor. "Sit."

His command was met with utter silence. The fake Edward didn't move a muscle, not even his slight smirk twitched. In a flash of annoyance, Mustang's signature smirk came to Ed's mind.

"Don't look down on me!" he snapped, jabbing his finger towards the ground again and again.

The other boy shrugged carelessly. "I guess it makes sense that you're disturbed. You're fifteen and you're only that tall."

That comment hit home with all the subtlety of a Mac Truck. Ed's reaction was just as quick and usually just as hazardous. He threw a punch with his right fist.

The imposter dodged it easily, shifting slightly to his right side. Ed threw another series of punches, all of which the taller boy easily avoided and deflected.

His left hand caught Ed's right fist. The impact stung his palm, but he refused to let the pain show on his face. Only a thin layer of white fabric separated him from the unforgiving steel of the other boy's fist. "Auto-mail, huh? The real one has had his troubles, it looks like."

Ed ignored the veiled condescension in the observation. "And you seem to have had a not-so-easy life as well." Ed's heavily booted foot shot up and connected with the taller boy's jaw. The imposter flew back and skidded a few feet towards the doorway in a crouch.

Ed sprinted forward only to be met with the other boy's fist. He staggered back.

The fake Edward got to his feet. "Show me a State Alchemist's abilities," he taunted.

"You'd better not regret it," Ed warned with a maniacal grin. With a clap and slap of his hands, four spikes shot out of the stone floor.

The imposter threw himself to the side just as the vine-like spikes crashed into the ground where he had been standing a split-second before. "Pretty good," he panted. "No transmutation circle, eh?"

Ed gritted his teeth in consternation. The other blonde jumped out from behind a bookshelf and slammed a palm to the ground. Instead of blue, red sparks flew as four identical spikes hurtled toward the brothers.

"The imposter doesn't need a transmutation circle either?" Al gasped. He didn't have time to ponder the new information any further as Ed tackled him to the ground, out of the path of the spikes.

"Do you have it? The Philosopher's Stone," Ed demanded of the blonde boy.

The imposter smirked.

Ed glared back in response. His cheek was beginning the throb in time to the vein in his forehead.

Clamoring footsteps echoed in the outside hall. "What was that sound?"

"Over here!"

Ed stiffened at the sound of the approaching guards. Looks like they weren't getting any answers tonight.

* * *

"Dammit. I'm hurting all over," Ed groaned, lying back on the chilled ground.

Al drew his knees up. He and Ed were miles away from the mansion resting on a deserted hill beyond the village. Al couldn't feel the cold air, but from the faint puffs he saw of Ed's breath, he assumed it must be fairly chilly. Not that they could go anywhere. Word had already spread about their impersonation and no inn would take them in.

"That imposter was strong."

Ed scoffed. "It must've been the stone's power."

Al trod carefully around his brother's already bruised pride. "Then is the Philosopher's Stone complete?"

With a grunt, Ed sat up and mimicked his brother's pose. "I'll be sure to find out," he promised vehemently. He didn't have to say it. Al knew he would. It was what they had come for. What they had traveled for. What they had sacrificed everything for. Both brothers knew it.

Al broke the silence. "I wonder what those brothers' names are. Those two must have real names." A thought occurred to him. "Hey, is the elder brother older than you?"

The clang of Ed's right fist plowing into Al's armor echoed in the still night. Al fell to his side in a heap. "Don't jump to conclusions based on height alone!"

* * *

The younger blond boy toyed with a plant leaf. Its ends looked almost singed, a dark red border creeping up and overtaking the green. The room was lined with potted plants, most of which were green, but a few were brown with a red tinge. His brother sat at a table cluttered with bottles and flasks of red liquid. One flask was clutched in his right hand as he jotted notes.

"Niisan, let's stop doing this." The boy's worried voice was muffled by the gray face masks both boys wore. "What are we going to do if those two tell people the truth?"

"Don't worry," the older boy tossed back, focused on his notes. "No one will believe what they say. Let's hurry up and complete the Philosopher's Stone and then get out of this city."

"Will it really work?"

He swirled the flask's contents, raising it to the light. "I'm not letting Mugear get famous from Father's life research."

"But –"

"Don't worry!" He cut off his younger brother's protest. "If worse comes to worse, I'll be sure to at least let you escape."

The boy gazed at his brother's back with tears in his eyes. His brother just didn't understand.

* * *

The candles that lined the walls of the underground cavern burned bright. Shadows flickered over the rough boulder walls that surrounded the tunnel's wooden frame. At the end of the tunnel, the narrow walkway opened into a clearing where red liquid gushed forth from a crude stone fountain.

A gray-haired, portly man stared transfixed at the flowing liquid. The water of life. Clearer and thinner than blood, but just as potent. His eyes burned as bright as the candles over his brown face mask.

"Is it okay for you to just stand there?"

The man turned in the direction of the husky voice. A woman sat in the shadows of the cave, perched five feet up on a boulder ledge. She wore the simple white and brown dress of the village peasants. Even in the darkness of the shadows, her skin was paler than white.

"You were here?"

She ignored the question. "I've heard that outsiders have come here." Her throaty voice barely echoed in the small confines of the cave.

"Yes, but don't worry," he hastily assured her. "The Elric brothers have gotten rid of them."

"I wonder about that," she replied doubtfully. With a toss of her head, she shook off her hood and long, black hair fell free spilling over her shoulders in soft waves. "Those kids might be the rascals themselves."

He watched as her red lips curved in a slight smile, her raven tresses framing her beautiful face. "What?" Her statement barely registered in the man's mind.

"Now that it has come to this," she continued, "the military will find out about the research eventually." She gracefully lowered herself to the ground from her perch. "You'll have to remove your hands from this soon, Mugear."

"Please don't say that!" Mugear snapped back to attention. "Let me work on this a little more," he pleaded, beads of perspiration popping up on his forehead. "Please give me some more time. I promise I will complete the Philosopher's Stone."

The woman looked down at the man groveling on his knees before her. "Hurry up then," she said simply. "Use whatever means necessary."

The man's seedy eyes widened first in surprise then comprehension dawned. Yes, any means. Anything for the Philosopher's Stone.

* * *

"Your cheek has swollen up."

Ed pressed his abused jaw to Al's metal thigh. "It's so cold and feels so good," he sighed.

Al giggled. A strange sound to hear coming from a suit of armor. But he couldn't help it. Being a hollow suit of armor didn't come with many perks. "I'm glad that my body is useful to you."

Dirt crunched behind them. Instantly alert, both boys turned at the sound of footsteps. A slim man with black hair stood on the slope of the hill, a long stick slung over one shoulder.

"You're the person who came to the shop this afternoon," said Ed. What was his name? Belzo? Benicho? Belsio.

"If you have no place to stay, come to my place."

Al shot a surprised look at Ed. They hadn't thought anyone would take them in, not even an inn. Ed shrugged then nodded gratefully at Belsio. He didn't much relish the prospect of spending the night out in the cold on the ground.

In silence they followed the man to a modest home at the base of the mountain. Once inside, Al spoke. "Thank you. You saved us."

Belsio placed a bowl of warm water and a towel on the wooden table and slid it towards Ed. "I can't let children sleep outside."

Ed's golden eyes followed Belsio as he walked back to the sink, dubiously weighing the man's intentions. "You're not going to ask our names?" he asked suspiciously.

"You're the Elric Brothers, right?"

"Then you believe us?" Al stood up abruptly, pushing his chair away from the table.

"No. But I believe that people have their reasons." He didn't so much as glance at his reluctant guests. "But I'm not the one who will be responsible for it. You two will."

Ed pressed the warm towel to his swollen jaw. "You don't seem to be interested in the Philosopher's Stone," he observed.

At that comment, their host turned around. His eyes were shuttered. He looked everywhere but at the two boys. "The people in this city can't forget the wealth that gold brought them, so they're acting exactly the way Mugear wants them to." His gaze finally came to rest on a bowl of lemons.

* * *

Morning came and with it another visitor.

"Good morning, Mr. Belsio!" Elisa bounced into the kitchen through the side door.

Belsio was at the sink washing dishes, his back to his new guest. "Your dad's going to get mad at you for visiting me again." Belsio's reminder was mild and not unkind.

"It's okay," Elisa dimpled, crossing her arms behind her head. "Dad is talking about the gold mine right now. He doesn't know."

"Good morning." Al's groggy greeting preceded him down the hallway. Ed trudged in front of his brother, his shoulders hunched and his normally intense eyes were dull with fatigue. Belsio only had one extra bed and the boys had to share it. Needless to say, Al took up quite a bit of space, leaving Ed with less than a third of the bed. Although Ed would be that last to admit it, and no one with the slightest bit of common sense and knowledge of the tempermental alchemist would dare mention it, the left over space was small even for someone of his stature.

Elisa turned to the two boys. "So you two were here." She spotted the bruise growing on the blond boy's jaw. Ed hastily covered it with a white-gloved hand. "Does it hurt? That must be punishment for lying."

"We're not the ones who are lying, but they hit me like I'm some child molester," Ed grumbled. Al couldn't tell if his lack of articulation was from fatigue or because his jaw hurt when he spoke.

"So you two were the ones who snuck into Mr. Mugear's mansion?" Her large brown eyes widened.

"Of course!" Ed burst out. "We can't let the imposters roam free." He crossed his arms across his chest sulkily. "Trying to create gold using the Philosopher's Stone is –"

"Niisan." Al's hand fell on Ed's shoulder stopping the flow of words. The little girl was now staring at the floor, her expression crestfallen.

Ed didn't say anything. For a moment, he thought he could see Nina in the young girl. He brushed aside the unwelcome thought. "I'm going to take a walk," he said abruptly and left.

"Niisan," Al called after his brother. Ed didn't turn around. Al hunched his shoulders and clenched his hands, exasperated with the elder Elric.

"The big one there…"

"Yes?" Al turned at the call. He had almost forgotten Belsio's presence.

"Can you go to the pharmacy?" At Al's nod, he continued. "I want you to get Elisa's medicine and you need a stupe for your brother as well."

* * *

A few villagers aimlessly wandered through the town, running errands, pausing to speak in hushed whispers now and then. None of them paid any attention as a small blond boy dragged a wooden crate over to the window of the town pharmacy. Climbing up on the makeshift stool, he grasped the window ledge and peered inside.

Inside, there were more people than there were milling the streets. Huddled together on benches, they eyed the suit of armor that entered and sank deeper into their whispered conversations.

"Hey, that armor person is an imposter," said one middle-aged woman to her friends.

"Really? I hope he leaves soon," another said, deliberately raising her voice louder. Weren't they the ones who snuck into Mr. Mugear's mansion last night?"

Al strode to the single counter in the small store, ignoring their scornful comments. As he passed the benches, he noticed a few men wearing face masks and many others seemed to be plagued with the same coughing bouts as Elisa.

"Hey, you!" A shrill, crotchety yell drew his attention back to the counter. A tiny woman about mid-fifties stood in the doorway leading behind the counter, a mop brandished in her hands. "What do you want here?" she demanded accusingly. She took a few steps forward, completely unfazed by the armor that towered a good three feet above her.

Al took a precautionary half-step backwards. If there was one thing Granny Pinako taught him, it was not to underestimate tiny women, especially when said woman is armed. "I-I came to get some medicine…" he stammered.

The termagant cut him off. "We have no medicine that cures liars!" Clutching the mop handle like a sword, she swung the mop at his head, advancing forward until her unwanted customer was out the door.

She slammed it shut with relish. Al stared at the closed doors in dismay. "Oh boy, I can't buy medicine now."

"Umm…" Al turned at the small voice behind him. It was his imposter. The metal armor clanked as Al stiffened. The young boy still wore the same green jumper from the night before. Right now, his head was tipped downwards, his eyes to the ground. "I'll buy the medicine for you," he offered shyly.

"Huh?"

"It's equivalent trade," the boy explained, "to return the favor for lying." He raised earnest blue eyes to Al's white eye lights.

At Al's tacit agreement, he disappeared into the pharmacy. Wisely opting to remove himself from the store's vicinity, Al wandered over to a more deserted part of town. Fifteen minutes later, the boy emerged from the pharmacy and joined the suit of armor. The two silently walked together and climbed up a stack of large, unused underground drainage pipes. They sat at the top, their legs dangling over the wall bordering the town square.

The boy handed a paper bag to Al.

"Thanks." Al accepted the bag. He didn't look at the other Alphonse. "We both have trouble with our reckless brothers, don't we?" Since the other boy was making the effort to be nice, Al's sense of fairness and politeness forced him to do the same.

"You're not mad?"

Al turned to face his imposter. "You have your reasons, don't you?"

The boy hesitated, unsure what to make of Alphonse Elric. He and his brother were ostracized from the town because of him, and here the real Alphonse was offering forgiveness. "I'm sorry," he said finally. "We needed famous names to participate in Mr. Mugear's research. The Elric brother is the only young State Alchemist."

"Do you need the Philosopher's Stone that badly?"

The boy kicked his dangling feet. "It's something my dad researched his whole life," he said quietly.

"Your father was an alchemist also?" Al absently noticed how much larger his metal feet were compared to the boy's worn sneakers.

He nodded. "But one day he just disappeared all of a sudden, so Niisan is forcing himself to finish Dad's work." He felt the sting of his short nails digging into his soft palms before he even knew he had clenched his fists tight on his lap. The words he had just spoken registered in his mind. Why had he told him that? He hadn't ever told anyone.

"That's the opposite of my brother."

The boy looked up at the armor's soft confession. "My brother hates our alchemist dad. Our dad was too involved in alchemy and made Mom sad." Al spoke impartially; he had been too young to remember his dad leaving, much less life before he had left. "We've seen many other people who have suffered because of alchemy. If your brother is doing something wrong, only you can stop him." He looked down at his imposter, realizing that they had more in common then either of them had thought. "You can't let another person do it or your older brother will get hurt."

Leaving those words of advice for the boy to mull over, Al jumped down to the ground with a thud. Wordlessly, the boy followed him and together they walked through the town. They came to a pause before a large building that parted the street they stood on in two.

Before they parted ways, Al had one more question for the younger boy. "It's been bugging me, but this city has a lot of people who cough, doesn't it?"

The blond boy flushed guiltily. He managed to utter a murmur of agreement through his rapidly tightening throat. Luckily, Alphonse didn't seem to notice.

"I wonder if this medicine is to stop the coughing." He considered the package in his large gray hands.

"That's…" The younger boy stopped on a gasp, his eyes drawn on something past Al. Al turned. The elder Elric imposter stood silhouetted at the end of one fork. He leveled his dark blue eyes at the pair then turned and strode away.

"S-sorry, I have to go now!" The boy began to run after his brother.

"Hey, you, what's your name?" Al yelled after the boy.

He paused and threw a smile over his shoulder. "Fletcher."

Al watched Fletcher disappear down the road. Once the boy had disappeared from view, he decided to return to Belsio's and consider what Fletcher had told him.

A flash of red, black and yellow whizzed past him in a flurry of heavy bootsteps. "Niisan?"

Ed halted, mid-stride, and fixing a slightly puzzled gaze on his younger brother. Al was careful not to mention that Ed's right jaw was still swollen, giving him the appearance of a lopsided chipmunk. "What's wrong?" he asked instead.

"I found the imposter," Ed exclaimed. "The elder brother. Did he run past here?"

"Um, yes."

Al expected Ed to go running in the direction Fletcher had just gone, but to his surprise, Ed stayed where he was. "That guy was posing as a good person, fixing plows and transmuting wheels," Ed ranted.

"I think that's better than doing something bad," contradicted Al.

Ed frowned. "I don't like how he's doing it. He's ignoring the principle of equivalent trade. Al, we're going to sneak in again tonight."

"What? But it's only been a day since we first snuck in!"

"That's why."

Al sighed. When Ed had that look in his eyes, there was no stopping him.

* * *

Russell bent over the microscope, slowly bringing the red crystals into focus. Fletcher hesitantly approached his brother.

"Niisan, there's something I want to talk about," he began timidly. His brother gave no indication he had even heard the plea. Fletcher's shoulders drooped.

Outside the walls, Ed and Al once again tiptoed their way past the guards. Pausing in the same place they had the night before, the shorter Elric looked up at his younger brother. "We're going with the mole strategy today," said Ed.

"Mole strategy?"

With a quick glance to either side, Ed brought his palms together then bent to press them to the ground. Yellow light shot up from the spot in a thick column, blue sparks wriggling along the ground. A second later, the light vanished, leaving only the bright moon overhead for illumination. Ed stared down the hole he created. It was about three and a half feet in diameter – more than half as long as Ed himself.

Al followed his brother down into the tunnel. As they crawled under the mansion, Al was forced to lie almost completely on his stomach, using only his elbows and knees to propel him forward to keep his back and head from clanging against the ceiling of the tunnel. They were a good distance below the mansion, and the odds of someone hearing the clanging was minimal, but every time Al scraped the top, he was showered with tiny bits of dirt and rock. In front of him, Ed easily crawled on all fours, a comfortable distance between his uplifted head and the top of the tunnel. Not for the first time, he envied Edward his smaller stature, even if it was a little too small for his age with the heavy steel limbs weighing him down.

"Okay, we should've reached the bottom of the building by now." Ed paused and sat back on his heels.

"Are you sure?"

Ed eyed the top of the ceiling. With a shrug, he clapped his hands. "At any rate, we should end up somewhere anyway." He raised his palms to the rough surface above his head. Light once again emerged from beneath his palms, then disappeared, leaving behind another circular tunnel. Ed could see something purple at the end.

"There it is."

* * *

Al stared at the stream of clear red liquid rushing past them. He and Ed stood on a narrow walkway in what appeared to be an underground waterway for the liquid. A red fog settled low to the ground, rising only as high as his knees. "What is this?"

"This could be the water that's the source of the Red Stone."

"The Red Stone?"

"I read a book about it in Central City." Ed's golden eyes were transfixed on the water, almost mesmerized by its clarity. "It's a compound very similar to the Philosopher's Stone and it's a stone that can be created with red water."

"So they can create the Philosopher's Stone with this water?

"It's not going to be exactly the same," Ed qualified. "I heard that some alchemist named Nash-something was researching it, but it didn't go well."

As the last words left his mouth, Ed bent over clutching his throat. Sweat beaded at his temples and ran down his face.

"Niisan? What's wrong?" Al couldn't feel, but he didn't think it was that hot in the tunnel. And heat wouldn't cause his brother's shoulders to shake or his face to go pasty white either.

"All of a sudden my body feels…" Ed's eyes rolled back in his head.

Al caught his brother as he pitched forward, unconscious. Al shook the limp figure in his arms. "Niisan? Niisan!"

"This way!"

Al's head shot up at the new voice. "Who's that?"

Fletcher stood at the doorway of the stone tunnel. "It's me," he yelled, his small voice muffled by the mask covering his nose and mouth. "Hurry!" Al stared at the small boy. "Hurry up!" he screamed.

* * *

Ed moaned. What the hell had happened? He opened his eyes.

"Niisan, are you okay?"

Ed struggled to a sitting position. His left hand met cool metal. He was cradled in Al's lap. The world righted itself in sharp focus. "Where am I?" His sharp eyes raked the strange room, past the lab tables and plants and landed on the other person in the room. Ed fixed a glare at the blonde boy. "Why are you here?"

"I-I'm sorry," Fletcher stammered.

Ed's irritation deflated just as quickly as it had flared at the tears in the younger boy's baby blue eyes. "Why are you crying?"

"Fletcher, if you know something, please tell us." Ed's eyes snapped back to his brother. How did he know the boy's name? "You don't like doing this either, do you?"

Fletcher stared at his small hands fisted on his knees. "That red water is very dangerous to humans," he confessed softly, "but we need it to create the Red Stone."

Things began to fall into place. The villagers' coughing. Ed's faint. The need for the Elrics' names. "Is that the reason the people of the city are coughing?" Al asked.

"I'm sorry," the boy repeated, his eyes filling with tears again. "I'm so sorry."

"Geez, what a mess." Ed stood up and paced the room. "I'll get rid of it."

"I can't let you do that."

Ed turned. The older imposter stood at the other end of the room. He held out a stone that from Ed's distance, looked like the color of blood. It was perhaps the length of the teenager's thumb and twice as thick. "The Red Stone has grown this big. Father sacrificed himself for this. His death would be meaningless if the research didn't succeed."

That boy really thought that creating an imposter stone would make someone's life meaningful? "So what about that worthless stone?" scoffed Ed.

Russell's blue eyes narrowed. He slipped the stone in his pocket and wrapped his hand around a desk lamp sitting at a nearby table. A red glow enveloped the lamp and in a flash a slender sword was now gripped firmly in his hand,

Ed's blood was pumping now. "That sword is a fake, too, right?" He clapped his hands and ran his left palm over the back of his right hand. Blue sparks flew as an auto-mail blade jutted out over his right fist. He brandished it with a grin. "I'll break it along with your stone!"

With a war cry, he sprinted forward and the clang of the two blades reverberated in the room. Ed steadily applied pressure to the sword listening carefully to the scratching of metal on metal. The iron blade began to crack and chip, tiny shards of metal falling to the floor between them. "Mine is the real thing."

The imposter swore and instead drove a knee into the shorter blonde's mid-section. Ed flew back, the wind knocked out of him, but he managed to stay on his feet.

Red light danced around Russell's hand as he slammed his palm against the steel door behind him. The red sparks formed a circle and Ed gaped as the boy brandished the newly transmuted tube before him.

"It's the red water," he warned. His hand clenched the handle at the end of the tube. Ed's eyes followed the length to the steel door it emerged from, behind it lay an intricate piping system that led to the underground river.

"If you get soaked, you're done for. Sorry, fainting isn't the only thing you'll be doing."

Ed grinned. "Bring it on," he invited, clapping his hands beneath his auto-mail sword.

Red water and blue light clashed in a fierce battle for a brief instant as Ed completed the transmutation. He braced his legs apart and held the auto-mail umbrella in front of him to ward off the violent onslaught of water. The powerful stream hit the umbrella straight on, spraying water in all directions.

"Niisan, don't be so reckless," Al yelled.

The imposter locked his arm against the pipe, struggling to keep the gallons of water aimed at the State Alchemist. "Just like your brother said, 'Go home!'"

"No." Ed easily withstood the assault. "I won't lose to a guy chasing after his dad." Resentful thoughts of his own father rose up unbidden, but he quickly squelched them.

Russell responded with a twist of his wrist, almost doubling the water pressure. Even with his left arm bracing his right, the force of the new attack sent Ed slowly, but steadily inches back.

The gallons of red water began pooling at Ed's feet, staining his boots with the blood red substance. Ed shifted his weight minutely, but his focus remained on the jet of water and his boots skidded on the slippery floor. The force of the water shot Ed clear off his feet.

A loud thud echoed in the room.

Ed lay a good two feet from the treacherous pool of red liquid and instead in it shivered a whimpering Fletcher.

Al ran to the younger boy and gathered him in his metal lap, away from the debilitating effects of the water. "Fletcher, get a hold of yourself."

Russell stood mute at the door, pipe hanging limply from his fingers.

"Niisan, Dad researched the water to make people happy, remember?" Fletcher cried. "But what we're doing is making the people in the city suffer. Niisan, you know that."

"Who cares about fame? Dad…" Fletcher winced, the fumes of the red water emanated from his soaked clothes. "Dad wouldn't be happy about this!"

The older boy jerked his head up at his brother's outburst, hurt and remorse etched in his gray eyes. What had he done?

A shrill whistle pierced the air.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Review please. 

Flower Kid: Thanks for the name help. I usually forget which names I really looked up and which ones I just got off the A-Keep subs. A-Keep used Psiren, but I think for now I'll stick to Siren since that's what the official website says for her.

Wyldcat, Ronya, SongSwifteye, InuBecka, WildfireDreams, DeathbyTexas, blurred3883, Dark-Angels-Tears, and Storm Alchemist: I've never really thanked you guys for leaving reviews, so here I am now. I'll try from now on to leave a thanks at the end of a chapter. But if I forget, I'm sorry. I really do appreciate your guys' encouragement!


	11. 12 Gravel Earth part 2

Sorry to keep you all waiting….

Disclaimer: same as always.

* * *

**12 Gravel Earth – Part Two**

The door at the other end of the room rattled on its hinges as a fist pummeled it from the outside. "Mr. Edward! What's wrong?" Mugear's voice permeated the now silence of the room.

"It's nothing," the fake Edward yelled back. "I told them not to interfere."

"It looks like you're not trusted," Ed smirked. "Maybe you'll feel better if you just reveal your identity."

Al ignored his older brother and found his attention drawn to a soft scratching. Fletcher knelt in front of the door Mugear was behind, scratching a transmutation circle on its surface. Placing both palms over the chalk, he closed his eyes in concentration.

An enormous tree trunk burst from an explosion of green light.

"Run! Hurry!" he pleaded with the real Elric brothers. "If you two get caught, we'll be in trouble as well. We'll clear up this matter soon."

The large door rumbled again with Mugear's impatience.

Ed assessed their options in a split second. "Al, let's go." The glass window shattered on impact with his shoulder and he tumbled to the ground. Al drew up his knees in midair, then followed his brother.

The two boys watched from the broken window as the alchemists dashed across the lawn and nimbly vaulted over the iron-gate. Russell turned to survey the pool of red water on the ground and the large tree currently obstructing their boss' entrance.

"I'm sorry, Niisan," Fletcher apologized quietly

* * *

The red stone glowed a warm ruby as it healed Fletcher's wounds and absorbed the excess red water. "You promised not to use alchemy," his brother admonished quietly. "Father didn't like it when you did."

The pitter-patter of feet invaded the room as two men finally made their way in, brandishing rifles. Mugear followed close behind. "This is horrible…" he breathed, surveying the damage done to his precious laboratory.

"Mr. Mugear."

Mugear turned to face the two boys. "Oh, the two of you are safe. The stone, is it safe?"

"There's no need to worry," the teenager reassured him, holding up the red stone, "it's here."

The older man reached for the stone as if it were his only salvation, his eyes devouring the small rock. "Well done growing it to this size," he gushed. "But we don't have any more time. Please use _that_ method soon."

The blond alchemist was taken aback. "We don't have to use that method for the stone to…"

"You're not going to follow my orders?"

"No…" He looked away, his long bangs hiding the anxiety in his gray eyes.

"There was a man who said something similar to that a while ago." Mugear rummaged around behind himself and produced a large round device. The gold handle wrapped intricately around a spherical main container that was filled three-quarters of the way with red water. "He was a loser who ran away, though." He dropped the red stone into the opening at the top.

On immediate contact, the red water began to glow. The boys' eyes widened. "As long as I have this," Mugear took aim with the device, "I can do anything, even if I'm not an alchemist."

Red light shot out from the center of the sphere, crept along the floor, then in a swirl of brilliant light surged upwards and encircled the two young alchemists. The red light dissipated leaving thick bands cocooning them from shoulder to knee.

"Wondeful, isn't it?" Mugear marveled at his new toy. He fixed his beady eyes on the two bound boys. "The real Elric Brothers have blonde hair and gold eyes," -- both brothers' apprehension were reflected in their gray and green eyes at his next four words – "sons of Nash Tringum."

* * *

Ed and Al cautiously crept back into the house, painstakingly careful to close the door with no noise and padded across the wooden floor.

"I heard a lot of noise from the mansion."

They stopped mid-tip-toe. "Really?" Ed scratched the back of his head in confused innocence.

"You went there again, didn't you?" Belsio didn't move from his seat at the dinner table. "You guys just can't be helped."

Although he was a hollow suit of armor, Al still had exceptional sensory radar and homed in on a soft coughing. "Is Elisa still here?"

"Yeah. The grape tree is about to wither, so she doesn't want to leave its side." Belsio's tone softened slightly. "But her coughing's still bad. I just put her to bed."

* * *

The fire burned bright in Belsio's hearth. Ed relished in its warmth after a long night of creeping out in the cold and took a sip of the steaming mug he held. In his years as a dog of the military, coffee had become his salvation. 

"Red water?" Belsio sat forward.

"Yeah. They were trying to crystallize it to make a stone," Ed explained. "But then again, the red water is merely an imitation compared to the Philosopher's Stone." Ed mentally brushed it aside and took another sip of the heavenly brown liquid.

"What did he mean by his father's dream?" Al wondered aloud.

Ed shrugged the question off. "That must've just been some excuse." What did he care? They stole his identity. And to add insult to injury, one of them was taller than him.

"Those two… Could they be Nash's sons?"

"Nash?" Ed repeated. "You mean the one who discovered the red water, Nash Tringum?"

"He was from this city," Belsio confirmed. "He went to Central to do research on the red water. But on that day, he came back to this city."

A lone figure, clad in drab gray, hunched over from the rain and solitude entered Belsio's consciousness.

* * *

"_Nash! Is that you, Nash?" Belsio peered at the stranger in the alley. "You came back. Are you doing well?"_

_Nash gave his old friend a small smile._

_Belsio escorted Nash back home and the two settled down, a bottle of brandy between them. _

"_This city is declining. I think everyone should stop relying on the gold as their way of life," Belsio said to his subdued friend. "How's the research on the red water? Is it going well?"_

"_I quit," Nash stated quietly. "I will never research it. I won't go back to Central either."_

"_What? What about your family?"_

"_I failed as both a husband and a father." He stared unseeing at the amber liquid in his glass._

"_Nash…"_

* * *

"He left everything behind. And he never spoke of what happened in Central. Then Mugear, this city's greatest landowner, came to speak with him. He proposed research on the red water."

* * *

"_The answer is the same no matter how many times you ask me!"_

_Belsio turned in the sweltering heat to the voice behind him. Nash stood no more than seven feet away. Mugear, dressed in his city finery, suit, tie, hat and all, stood on the other side of the rock wall._

"_Are you going to abandon this city, then?" the landowner demanded. "Only your red water can create gold now. If we have gold, this city will live once again. Nash, only you can save this city," he appealed. "I beg of you."_

_Belsio watched in silence as his friend's shoulders began to shake, his weary eyes shaded by his faded hat._

* * *

"He confined himself in one of Mugear's mines where he began the research," Belsio continued. "The city became prosperous with gold again. Furnaces were filled with fire; merchandise filled the streets. Life returned to the people."

"But at the same time, an unknown sickness began to spread. Many babies who were just born died because there was no way to cure it."

"Elisa is from that," Ed surmised.

Belsio nodded. "After a while, Marco, an alchemist doctor, came here."

* * *

_A man sat beside the bed of a two year old girl, her tiny body wracked with violent coughs, her small chest heaving with the exertion of forcing air in and out of her lungs. Her parents stood at the other end of the bed, her mother anxiously leaning forward, hoping for a cure for her baby girl._

"_The cause of this is a poison that has spread into the earth. The red water," he diagnosed. He reached into a leather doctor's bag and removed a red stone no bigger than the size of his palm. He raised it to Elisa's forehead and a bright yellow light enveloped the room._

_

* * *

_

Ed jerked forward on the sofa. "It shined?"

"Yeah."

"Could that light be…" Al trailed off, turning toward his brother.

"Anyway, it's certain that Elisa was saved thanks to his treatment," Belsio brushed off the subject of the stone. "I pressed Nash for answers."

* * *

"_Answer me, Nash. This place will become a city of death at this rate." Belsio took a step closer to his old friend. Nash once again wore his gray trench coat and hat, shoulders hunched over from fatigue. "What did you do?"_

"_I was wrong." Nash didn't even turn. "Again." His shoulders hunched over further, as if he were trying to shrink in on himself, to disappear. "It happened again." He straightened. "I will end everything. I will end it."_

_With that he continued down the path leading out of his hometown._

_

* * *

_

"No one has seen him since. Eventually, less gold was mined and the city began to decline again."

"_If those two are Nash's sons, they must have come after their father." _Nash's words rang in Ed's head. He sat cradled in a tree branch staring up at the full moon, the cool night breeze a soothing balm to his troubled thoughts.

"Niisan." Al stood next to the tree, the top of his helmet almost touching Ed's elbow.

"What?"

"It can't be helped, you know. Those two only have their father."

Ed bristled. "Those two are just justifying this by using their dad as an excuse."

"That may be true, but we're doing the same thing," Al pointed out quietly. "I understand their feelings."

Two brothers. A missing father. _Otousan. _Ed didn't answer, his golden eyes intently fixated on the moon as if it held the answer to their dilemma.

* * *

Mugear swore at the thick door. "Really, you should've just listened to me and used that method," he said to the two boys locked on the other side. 

Both brothers sat on the cold stone floor of the makeshift prison, their wrists manacled in wooden clamps.

Fletcher leaned over to whisper to his brother. "Niisan, what's _that_ method?"

"It's simple." Mugear's voice bounced around the hollow room. "We make pregnant women drink the red water. Eventually the water will flow into the placenta and crystallize."

"You mean…"

"Stop!" Russell yelled.

"Then we borrow it when the time is right and transmute it into a stone," he continued as if neither of them had spoken. "It's an easy method that would definitely work."

Fletcher recoiled at the inhumanity and ruthlessness it suggested.

"My, my, you two are indecisive just like your father." Mugear turned away from the tiny barred window and started up the stairs to the main floor, completely dismissing them from his mind.

"Wait!" the elder Tringum shouted.

Mugear paused.

"Tell me one thing." He hesitated. "Did Father use that method?"

"He backed out at the last second. He would still be alive today if he'd done it."

The teenager gritted his teeth. "But you said that he died from an illness."

Mugear scoffed and continued on his way out.

"Wait!" he screamed at the man's back. "Hey, wait!"

The outer door fell shut with a loud clang, leaving the two enshrouded in the dark.

* * *

The fumes of the red water filled the underground canal. A woman clothed in a dark brown peasant dress perched atop the fountain as the potent red liquid cascaded around her.

"I have done everything needed," Mugear reported. "Now we just need to use the real Elric Brothers and put this into action." His voice was muffled by the brown mask covering his mouth and nose. He stood at attention, a soldier for his commanding officer's approval.

The woman tilted her head slightly, the heavy weight of her hair falling into her porcelain perfect features. "Will it go as planned, though? They're not easy opponents." Her husky voice rippled through the air, sending chills down Mugear's spine.

He balled one fist. "Dealing with one or two kids like them won't be hard," he assured her. "Please be patient for a while."

"Understood. Go." She raked her violet eyes unemotionally over the small tunnel. "This place will fall soon," she murmured.

* * *

"I am very sorry for the trouble those fakes caused. I was also deceived by them," Mugear apologized profusely to the boy and suit of armor before him. The real Elrics stood in the laboratory they had wrecked the night before.

"It is very hard for me to ask you this after all that trouble, but I think of you as high-class alchemists, so there is something I would like to ask your assistance with."

"Research on the red water?" Ed stood with his arms crossed over his chest, boredom and skepticism written across his face.

"Oh, you know? This will make things easier." Mugear took a few beseeching steps toward the brothers, his fingers laced together in front of his chest. "I heard a rumor that you have a great interest in the Philsopher's Stone." He produced the small red stone and held it up before them. Ed didn't so much as blink.

"Does this interest you? It's something made by crystallizing the red water. It's like a prototype of the Philosopher's Stone."

Ed arched an eyebrow nonchalantly. "And what am I supposed to do with it?"

"I want to save Xenotime," Mugear eagerly explained. "If we can recreate the gold vein, everyone won't have to leave the city."

"I see." Ed's eyes were focused on the stone. He finally shifted his attention to the pitiful excuse of a human standing before him. "So, where are the fakes?"

"I put them in the underground prison."

Satisfied for the moment, Ed turned his attention back to the stone. He clapped quickly and placed a gloved finger on the stone proffered to him.

Before Mugear's horrified eyes, it dissolved instantly. "What did you do?"

"I have no interest in an incomplete object." Ed placed his hands on his hips, ready to get down to business. "The punishment of the fakes comes first. I tend not to forgive liars," he added pointedly.

The hint was mostly lost on Mugear. "Does this mean you will accept my proposal?"

"This is nothing if we do it," Ed said. "More importantly, I haven't punished anyone in a long time," he grinned, a maniacal gleam glossing his eyes. "I'm getting excited." He shifted his famed gold eyes to the older man. "Would you like to watch?"

Mugear flinched at the boy's suggestion. "Um, I'll pass."

Al leveled a frown at his older brother. Ed could just hear the reproachful 'Niisan…' echoing in his head. But there were just so many delightful possibilities running through his head.

* * *

"Niisan?" Fletcher leaned toward his brother who was bent over his up-drawn knees. They'd been sitting in the dank cell for what seemed like hours. Fletcher had lost all perception of time.

The heavy door clanked open. Both brothers looked up to see the real Elrics silhouetted in the now open doorway. Al waved.

"Alphonse?"

"Nash Tringum is your dad, isn't he?" The brothers' sharp indrawn breaths answered his question. "What were you trying to accomplish by continuing his research?"

Russell bit back his pride. "That was Father's water. It's my duty to continue his research."

"You really are an idiot." Ed's piercing gold eyes never left the taller boy. "Do you know what the people in the city are going through because of the poison in that water? Your dad knew. That's why he tried to stop the research. You can't gain happiness if you try to rely on the red water or the Philosopher's Stone."

He stalked forward into the room, bringing his palms together. He placed one hand on each set of wooden restraints and transmuted them. Perfect wooden rectangles clattered to the stone floor.

"Move forward." Ed straightened and looked down at the two fully human brothers. "Don't do anything stupid since you've used my name."

He turned. "Al, let's go." The two Elrics ran out of the basement, their footsteps echoing in the now partially lit room leaving the Tringums still seated on the floor.

* * *

Mugear smirked at the red stains on his hand. Tiny particles of the red stone that Ed had pulverized still clung to his palm. "All is well. If the research goes well, they can --"

"And who is this 'they' you are referring to?" Ed stood in the doorway, arms negligently crossed in front of his chest. The suit of armor stood beside him. "There was something that caught my attention. The red water's researcher, Nash Tringum… Where did he go?"

"Nash? Oh I fired him since the research wasn't going well."

"You don't look like the kind of person who'd let someone go if they knew everything, though."

Mugear's beady eyes narrowed even further. "What are you trying to say?"

Ed's eyes hardened. "I'm not lending any help to a murderer, Mugear."

"You…" Mugear dropped all pretenses. "Fine," he reached behind him and pulled out the transmutation converter, "then I won't let you leave here alive. There are plenty other alchemists I can use." He held up another stone between his fingers.

Al started. "A rock?"

"There was more than one?"

He laughed at their dismay. "This one isn't as complete as the last one, though." He dropped it into the device and it transmuted a gun barrel. "Die!" He fired off a blast in their direction.

Ed flung himself and Al out of the way and rolled to the side of the room. "Is that it?"

With a scoff, Mugear dumped a handful of partially crystallized stones into the transmutator. "I still have more."

Six more gun barrels joined the first. Mugear leveled it at the State Alchemist.

"No way!" Ed and Al took off in a run, barely dodging the onslaught of transmuted bullets. They ran past the bookshelves and Ed stuck out a hand to catch a nearby pillar, swinging himself behind it. Al joined him on the other side.

Mugear laughed. "It's useless. Useless." He poured in another handful. The device reactivated and glowed red once again, pummeling the stone pillar with more bullets.

"It looks like equivalent trade doesn't apply to him." Ed shrank behind the pillar further. "Shit."

The bullets stopped. Mugear frowned and reached for more. But just as his hand reached his pocket, it was yanked back in the air. Strong vines wound their way around his arms and lifted the landowner high into the air.

Ed peered around the chipped plaster. The Tringum boys knelt at the other end of the room, their palms placed on a large potted plant that currently held Mugear hostage. He yelled for Al, and the two simultaneously pushed at the pillar.

It toppled over with a resounding crash, smashing the older man beneath it.

The dust cleared and Russell stood up. "Ed," he called, "looks like you needed my help after all."

"What?"

He ignored the furious glance Ed shot him. "I'm going to stop following my father." He raised his gaze to meet the State Alchemist's. "We'll find our own path."

Fletcher's mouth widened into a smile.

"Niisan." Al brought Ed's attention back to the matter at hand. He followed Al's line of sight to a huge hole in the wooden floor. Where Mugear's inert figure should have been, there were broken boards and a staircase leading down.

"An underground passage." Ed set his teeth. "That bastard got away."

* * *

The four boys ran down the dimly lit narrow underground tunnel.

Ed's voice was muffled behind the protective brown masks they wore. "Russell, are we there yet?"

"Almost there," he shouted back. "There's a spring that the red water flows from."

The boys came to an abrupt halt before a wall in the middle of the path.

"Mugear," Russell confirmed. "He blocked the route."

Ed walked up to the wall, irritated beyond measure. "I'll drag him out of there!" He clapped and quickly retransmuted the offensive barrier.

The blue electricity cleared, leaving a hole large enough for the four of them to go through. Ed's eyes widened. On the other side, Mugear crouched behind a cannon.

Flattening themselves to the sides of the tunnel behind the remnants of the wall, they barely avoided the hurling missile.

"I'll never hand this spring over," Mugear stood protectively in front of the fountain. "As long as I have this water, I can continue the research. I fear no State Alchemist." Mugear's speech ended on a gasp.

"Ed," Russell hissed. The State Alchemist in question stood belligerently in the hole he had created, his trademark gold eyes flashing with anger.

"Well said, Mugear," praised Ed. "Don't underestimate State Alchemists!"

He brought his hands together again just as Mugear launched another cannon. Ed rematerialized the stone barrier just as the missile exploded off of it, ricocheting the effect back toward Mugear. The force of the hit crumbled the wall and the boys choked back hacking coughs of dirt and dust.

Mugear groggily looked up from his position on the floor. He followed the black boot in front of his face upwards to a very annoyed State Alchemist.

"Do you understand now?" Ed towered over the prostate landowner. He could kind of get used to looking down on people. Too bad he was much to pissed off at the moment to enjoy the experience. "You're dealing with someone way above your level."

The tunnel walls around them began to shudder and shake. Bits of debris began falling from the ceiling. Mugear raked a terrified gaze around the trembling cave. Larger chunks of rock had fallen into the spring and half the fountain had caved in.

"Ed, this doesn't look good!" yelled Russell. "Get out!"

"Niisan!"

Ed used his right arm to ward off more falling bits of rock. He spotted Mugear crawling up the pile of rubble toward the fountain.

"I'm not handing this spring over –" Jets of red water spurted out from cracks in the pile of rocks. Mugear struggled to keep his balance on the precarious rocks. A rumble from above drew his attention. He screamed and futilely raised his hands as a large boulder came crashing down on top of him.

Ed spun and ran back to the other boys and the four of them madly dashed down the tunnel. They came to a stop. The sounds of rushing water were approaching faster from behind them.

"It's the red water," Ed stated.

"It's gushing out."

Ed ran to the nearest set of wooden supports and quickly erected another wall. "That should stop it for a while."

"Do you think the other places are okay?" Al asked worriedly.

Russell considered it. "With that shock, this place may fall apart soon. Let's go." The others followed him down the tunnel.

From the outside of the mansion, they could see rivers of red water trickling down the sides of the mountain. The spring would continue erupting until the entire village at the base of the mountain was flooded.

Ed skidded to a small open clearing and slammed his palms to the ground. Immediately, thick walls rose from the ground, effectively surrounding the volatile mountain and shielding the outside village. The red water gushed down the mountain and crashed into the moat-like valley Ed had created with a tremendous roar.

"Now if the flow would just stop…" Ed cast a dubious glance at the water still pouring from inside the mountain.

Fletcher rushed down the hill, skidding to a stop before one of the large pine trees of the forest that surrounded the mansion. With sure, swift strokes, he drew a transmutation circle onto the bark. Closing his eyes, he placed his small palm beside the circle and bent his head forward. He could feel the slight warmth through his green headband.

The trees of the mountain forest light up a luminous green and gradually began taking on an orange, then red tinge.

"The trees are absorbing the red water." Ed watched amazed as the tree after tree turned red, soaking up the flood of red water through their roots to the tips of the leaves.

"Niisan, I saw plants like this in the laboratory."

"He's trying to make the trees absorb the red water and leech out the poison?"

His blue eyes snapped open when a larger hand covered his own. The elder Trigum smiled at his little brother. With a silent nod, they both closed their eyes and concentrated on righting their wrongs.

The circle burned brighter and the red trees around them stretched even higher into the sky.

"They did it." Ed watched, absurdly proud of the two brothers, as the last of the red flood disappeared.

The brothers exchanged a glance. Fletcher looked back at the tree. "Thank you," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

The transmutation circle glowed once more, and the dark red of the trees turned to an ice blue. In brilliant bursts, each tree exploded into a firework of miniscule bits, scattering sparks throughout the sky then vanishing into nothing.

* * *

Elisa held up a basket of lemons to the two boys through the train window. "Here, these are from Mr. Belsio."

Al accepted the basket and thanked her with a laugh.

"Niisan-tachi, take care okay?"

Fletcher spoke up from next to her. "Come visit us again."

"Of course we will," Al promised.

Ed turned his attention to the other blonde teenager. "Are you sure you can make it in this city?"

"I'll accept whatever punishment we receive," Russell assured him. "My skills will come in handy if I work with Mr. Belsio." His tone sobered. "Ed, are you going to continue to search for the Philosopher's Stone?"

Ed's eyes betrayed his surprise at the question. Would he? After he had just told the two brothers that chasing after such a dream wouldn't bring happiness? His eyes cleared. The answer was simple. "Yeah."

"Should I teach you how to crystallize the red water?"

"It's not an apology or anything," Russell continued quietly so as not to be heard by the younger children, "but I think you should know."

Ed smiled slightly at the solemn offer. "I don't need to know. We'll figure it out on our own. That's for sure."

"Mr. Ed," Fletcher popped up on his side of the window. "Please come again. We'll make this city a better place."

"When that happens, I hope you're bigger," Elisa chimed in innocently.

"What'd you say!" Ed jumped to his feet. "That wasn't nice!"

Fletcher and Elisa giggled.

The train gave one final whistle and began pulling out of the station. "Bye!" Ed and Al leaned out the window, waving back at the three on the platform.

"Goodbye!"

* * *

Ed watched the sunset once again from the train window, a slight smile on his face. For all the bad things alchemy wrought, some good did come of it.

A piece of paper sticking out of the lemons caught Ed's attention. He leaned forward and plucked it out of the basket Al held in his lap.

"A letter? What does it say?" Ed opened the envelope and began to read. Midway down the page, his eyes bugged out and he strangled a yelp.

"What?"

"It's nothing," Ed replied quickly, curling his body protectively around the letter.

"Really?" Al's helmet took on a distinctly mischievous look. He lunged at his brother. "Show me." Ed darted out of the seat and around the tiny compartment. "Show me, come on," Al wheedled as he chased his brother around, yelling over his brother's squalls. "Niisan!"

_Ed,_

_You've done a lot for us. Thanks. I'm sorry I got cocky when I was a year younger than you. I'll use you as an example to help me become a better brother for Fletcher. _

_Have a nice trip,_

_Russell_

"Shit," Ed complained. "He's taller than me and a year younger? That's funny in a weird way."

"Those two will be fine, won't they?"

"Yeah. The had good faces that showed their determination." With people like that, maybe this world wasn't so hopeless after all.

* * *

A/N: Sorry the updates are pretty spaced out. I'm in the middle of midterms and work is just piling up. So I'm trying to drag out the updates to give myself time to finish incomplete episodes. 

As always, thanks for reading & please review.

WildfireDreams, FlowerKid, and Ronya: Thanks for the great reviews.

lebragirl25: hey welcome to the story. Like I said, I'm kinda bogged down with work now, but I'll make it a point to check our your story soon.


	12. 13 Flame vs Fullmetal

This was actually the first episode I ever wrote. It's my favorite. Hope you guys like it too.

Same disclaimer as always

* * *

**13 Flame vs. Fullmetal**

****

****

East Headquarters was grey. Huge, cold raindrops fell from the sky, drenching the FullMetal Alchemist and his brother. Edward Elric stood at the gates of East Headquarters, shoulders slumped in defeat.

Taking note of his brother's mood, Al asked, "What's wrong, Niisan?"

The short, blond boy heaved an irritated sigh. "I can already hear that smug Colonel. 'So Lior was another dead end? How much longer are you going to waste military funds on this wild goose chase?'" Ed mimicked, stomping around gesturing wildly.

Al sighed, used to his brother's outbursts. A soft noise around the corner caught his attention.

"'Oh, where did Ed go?'" Ed continued to mock his superior, Colonel Mustang. "I'm right here!" he answered for himself in his mock conversation. "'Sorry, sorry, I didn't see you behind that stack of papers.'" Ed stopped his ranting and pacing and heaved another sigh, his outrage draining out of his body with each raindrop that slid off his red coat.

"Well, like you said, we're here," he turned to address his younger brother. Ed drew up short when he realized his brother had disappeared. "Al? Where are you?" He shoved his wet hair out of his eyes. Turning to his left, he spotting the hulking armor of his brother hunched over at the corner. "Al!"

Al jumped at the sound of his name. Turning to Ed, he apologized with an almost sheepish expression on his face. Ed opened his mouth to question his brother further, but just then a strangled cry from inside headquarters split the air.

* * *

Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda was crouched on top a file cabinet, his hands pressed up on the ceiling to maintain his precarious perch. He was sweating profusely and his military jacket was unbuttoned to reveal the brown shirt beneath. "What's wrong, Breda?" Havoc asked, his cigarette bobbing with each word.

"Havoc, watch out!" Breda pointed a pudgy, shaking finger towards the ground. First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc and Warrant Officer Vato Farman all turned in the direction he was pointing.

There on the floor, in the middle of the sparsely furnished office, sat a black puppy, wagging its tail. He gave a short, happy bark at the blank stares of the officers. Hawkeye recovered her voice first. "What is this?"

"I believe it is a dog. Its scientific name is --"

"I know that. That is not what I was asking." Hawkeye smoothly cut off Farman.

The gray haired officer immediately saluted. "My apologies."

At that moment, Sergeant Major Kain Fuery entered the office and scooped the object of everyone's attention into his arms. "I'm sorry," he apologized, looking up at the other officers from where he knelt. "But I found him shivering in the cold, and I couldn't just leave him there." The youngest officer begged with his eyes behind his round glasses. His black hair was still slightly damp from the rain outside.

Hawkeye crossed her arms across her chest and tilted her head. "But we can't take care of him here in the office." Her uniform was neatly pressed, her long blond hair neatly smoothed back and clipped up behind her head.

Fuery stood up with the puppy in his arms, "Yes, but as you know, animals aren't allowed in the dorms. Do you know someone who could take care of him?" He looked around the office hopefully.

Farman held up a hand in front of himself. "Sorry, I also live in the dorms."

From his perch up on the file cabinet, Breda ground out, "I hate dogs."

"I like dogs," Havoc said, grabbing the puppy by its scruff as he walked past Fuery.

"Oh, thank you, Lieutenant Havoc," gushed a grateful Fuery.

Havoc merely looked over his shoulder at them and bounced his cigarette up and down in his mouth. "I hear they're very good in stew. In the East, they raise them for consumption," he mused.

Busy contemplating his dinner for the night, Havoc barely registered the weight of the puppy leaving his hand. He opened his eyes to find Hawkeye placing the dog back in an appalled Fuery's arms. "Perhaps we should find someone else to take care of him," she suggested.

Havoc spun around. "I was joking." His statement was met with dubious looks from around the office.

The creak of the door drew everyone's attention. A blond head with long bangs and braid popped in. "Sorry, anyone here?"

"Ed, Alphonse, you've returned," Hawkeye greeted the two brothers as Al popped his metal helmet in over his brother's, warmth creeping into her usually clipped and precise voice.

"Yes," Ed replied. "Is the Colonel here?" Ed's question was punctuated with a soft meow.

"What was that?" Hawkeye questioned, unaware of Fuery silencing the struggling puppy behind her.

Ed's face fell into a customary scowl and turned to Al's guilt-stricken face. "Al! Come here!" he ordered, hauling the suit of armor back into the hallway.

"Ed, your report." Hawkeye called out the reminder to the still slightly opened door.

Ed's head popped back in. "I'll deliver it to the Colonel directly," he said quickly, giving a quick salute before closing the door behind him leaving a very bemused group of officers.

Ed returned to the hallway to find Al with his chest plate on the ground. Inside his hollow torso was a tiny yellow striped kitten. Unable to resist, Ed kneeled down and rubbed the kitten between its ears. "You shouldn't have picked him up," he finally said.

"I couldn't just leave him out there. We can keep him can't we, Niisan?"

"Of course not," Ed exclaimed.

Al bent over the kitten. Then in an explosion of movement, he flung out his arm, catching his brother in the midsection, sending him flying, and ran down the hall. "Stupid Brother!"

Ed struggled to his elbows and stretched out a hand to his runaway brother. "Stop! You're hurting the kitten," he warned.

As predicted, the poor kitten was doing somersaults within Al's unforgiving armor. Through his tears, Al cried back, "I know. I know!"

* * *

_A five year old Alphonse peeked out of the door, watching his mother and brother. _

"_Mom, can't we keep it?" Ed beseeched, holding a kitten before him in his two arms._

_Al watched as his mother leaned on her broomstick and shook her head._

"So it was a fake." Colonel Mustang's amused voice broke through Ed's thoughts.

Ed looked up at the Colonel flipping through files and reports on his desk. "Yeah, so?" Ed sulkily replied, settling himself into the black leather couch. In contrast to his subordinates' office, the Mustang's was lushly furnished. Two identical couches facing each other were placed before the Colonel's large desk, and Ed was seated on the right-hand side one. Having discarded his soaked red cloak somewhere, he was clad in all black from jacket to boots. "You were the one who sent us to Lior," accused Ed.

"Mmm." Mustang negligently flipped a page. "I have some reports that you were in Xenotime. An alchemist, Mugear, has gone missing."

Ed's face adopted a thoughtful look. "Who's this Mugear person?"

Not fooled by Fullmetal's façade, Mustang said, "Please submit a report on the red water."

Ed immediately dropped his innocent expression and glared at Mustang.

Unaffected by Fullmetal's glower, Mustang continued, "I've also received some calls from the police department in Aquorya." He smirked and folded his hands beneath his chin, propping his elbows on his newly waxed desk. "Is it true that beneath the mask, Siren is very beautiful?"

Ed's face turned beet-red and he quickly turned away. "All right. You've made it clear that you know everything we did," he grumbled.

Sliding his chair back and standing, Mustang sighed. "You've been searching for three years, and you still haven't found the Philosopher's Stone. Why don't you take a break, Fullmetal?"

Ed also came to his feet. "Do you want me to listen to you?" he snapped back. "We have a purpose."

Mustang had turned to look out the window and contemplate the scenery. Behind his desk was a ceiling to floor window that over looked East City and stretched from wall to wall. Ed stiffly saluted his silhouetted back. He did an about face and headed to leave, but paused halfway to the door remembering something. "Colonel," he said, his back facing Mustang's. "There was a doctor in Xerotime who cured sick babies with alchemy. Dr. Marco."

"That name does not sound familiar" came the calm reply.

Ed gritted his teeth. "I figured that such a talented alchemist would at least be known to the military," he pressed.

"I do not know," Mustang laconically repeated.

Ed opened his mouth to ask another question, but was interrupted by Hawkeye's entrance. "Colonel," she began, slight distress written on her normally impassive features. She never got any further. The door was pushed open and a blue stream of two dozen military personnel filed into the office. One of which was Maes Hughes. Mustang stood speechless behind his desk. He gaped at his best friend who merely shot him a quick smile and winked.

"Pardon the intrusion, Colonel Mustang." The laughing voice of the Fuhrer drifted in through the door, the Fuhrer himself soon following. His one eye twinkled with merriment.

A slender woman trailed after him. She wore a dove-gray suit and her long brown hair fell in soft waves down her back. Ed studied her features. There was something familiar about her.

Brigadier General Basque Grand strode in soon after, cloaked in layers of confidence and righteousness. At his arrival, Mustang narrowed his eyes. "We will be appropriating here as a temporary Central HQ," Grand informed him, enjoying Mustang's discomfort.

Mustang recovered his composure long enough to snap a smart salute. Hawkeye was already doing the same to his left. "Welcome," he said formally.

* * *

The East HQ cafeteria was filled with rows and rows of military personnel and silver watches indicating their State Alchemist status. Ed sat at a table to the side, his head lazily propped up on one hand, listening to Hughes go on and on about his daughter.

"She just follows me around everywhere I go," Hughes squealed. Ed hadn't known it was possible for a grown man to squeal, but he guessed there was an exception for Hughes. He gave a half-hearted laugh as Hughes kissed the picture of Elicia he was holding. "I have more. Do you want to see?"

"Uhh, no." Desperate to change the subject, Ed said, "You should have let us know you were going to be in East City, Major."

"Oh! It's Lieutenant Colonel now. I've been promoted to head of the Intelligence Department," Hughes proudly informed him.

Ed refrained from rolling his eyes. "Doesn't that mean you should be in Central?"

"It can't be helped," Hughes said plaintively. "There's a --" Ed noticed his abrupt stop. "So how's the search for the Philosopher's Stone going?" Hughes quickly covered.

Ed's question died in his throat at Hughes' inquiry. "Not so well, but Mustang is holding information from me."

Hughes sat back. "Maybe he really doesn't know," he said casually, defending his friend.

"No, he just refuses to tell me what he knows about Dr. Marcoh," Ed fumed.

A huge shadow loomed over the table. "Did you say, 'Marcoh'?"

"Brigadier General Basque Grand," Hughes said in a low voice.

Ed nodded. "The Iron Blood Alchemist."

"Are you talking about the runaway Marcoh?" Grand boomed from his impressive height. Bald except for a thick handlebar mustache, the Brigadier General stuck an imposing figure.

"Runaway?" Ed echoed.

The cafeteria had become quiet and everyone turned to listen to the Brigadier General. "Yes, that runaway. It was the Eastern Rebellion in Ishbal. He ran away from the battlefield and stole military documents."

Lunch ended and Ed headed straight to the library where Al joined him.

"Dr. Marcoh. Dr. Marcoh," he chanted, tearing through shelves and shelves of books. Thank goodness the library was empty. Any spectator would have been horrified at the unfettered mess the Fullmetal Alchemist was recklessly creating. "There's no trace of him anywhere," he raged, sitting amongst a pile of books.

"Niisan, maybe you should --" Al's sentence was cut off by a meow.

Ed's expression darkened. "Al, I told you to --"

"But Niisan, it's still raining," Al pleaded.

"You --" Ed began.

"Yo!" Hughes banged in through the door with a cheerful wave.

"What?" Ed turned his enraged face to the unsuspecting intruder.

Startled by the unfriendly greeting, Hughes coughed. "I forgot to tell you something important. This year's assessment will take place here at East HQ."

Ed's face smoothed. "Is that the assessment to renew one's State Alchemist qualification?" Al asked.

At Hughes affirmative nod, Ed's lips spread into a grin, his golden eyes twinkling with devilish pleasure. "Major," he called, standing up.

"That's Lieutenant Colonel," Hughes corrected him, punching a finger at Ed in retaliation for his rude greeting.

"Right, Lieutenant Colonel," Ed hastily amended, eager to disclose his plan. "I have an idea…"

At Hughes' questioning and interested expression and Ed's huge grin, Al let out a sigh, wondering what his older brother was up to now.

* * *

Mustang's subordinates sat in their office, filling out the day's endless paperwork.

"Ed wants to fight the Colonel?"

"Yeah," Havoc answered, abandoning his paperwork.

"Can he do that?"

"Yup, every year State Alchemists have to renew their qualification. In this case, the battle itself becomes the assessment," Breda explained.

Havoc took a drag from his cigarette, leaning back negligently in his chair. "I wonder who will be stronger when those two duke it out."

Fuery looked up from the ground where he was feeding the puppy. "The Colonel, right?"

"I don't know," Breda rejoined. "When you take into consideration his performance in Ishbal…"

"But why would Ed want to do such a thing?" Fuery asked.

Hawkeye looked up from her paperwork, her pen still poised above the stack of papers for the Colonel to sign. "I heard that if Ed wins, the Colonel will have to take care of a kitten." She arched a meaningful eyebrow at the stack of unfinished paperwork still sitting on Havoc's otherwise clear desk.

"A kitten?" Fuery's face dropped. "I guess I can't ask him about this puppy." He sighed.

Roy entered the office, his eyes scanning its occupants, coming to rest on Fuery. He walked up and plucked the puppy out of his arms. "A dog," he said. Holding the dog at arm's length, Roy looked him over. "Isn't it good?" he cried, bursting into a smile.

"Really?" Fuery eagerly asked, hoping his search was finally over.

"Of course," Roy stated, swiveling to face his youngest officer. "A dog's loyalty is most admirable. It will obey its master's orders, it doesn't require a salary, and it won't complain when you treat it harshly," he cried gleefully, gesturing with the dog in his hands. "Wonderful. A dog is a human's slave," he laughed. "I love dogs!"

With each word of his commanding officer's speech, Fuery's face fell and dissolved into tears of despair.

"Yo, Colonel," Havoc interrupted Mustang's laughing. "Are you going to take Ed up on the offer?"

Mustang quieted down and smirked. "I could never become serious against a child. It's a pity you can't see through my gallant refusal."

* * *

Later that day, Mustang stood in the Fuhrer's temporary quarters flanked by Hawkeye and Havoc. The Fuhrer chuckled at the young boy's request. "Go ahead and fight the Fullmetal Alchemist," he said to Mustang's astonishment.

"But, but," Mustang sputtered.

Grand moved forward from behind the Fuhrer. "Are you not confident about beating the Fullmetal boy?"

Roy gritted his teeth at the question.

From the Fuhrer's other side, Hughes said, "The Fuhrer has approved the use of the parade grounds so we can minimize the damage."

Stunned, Mustang saluted them stiffly and exited the room.

"I will abide by their rules for now," he said to the two officers behind him as they strode down the empty, sterile hallway. "Until I become Fuhrer and control all of the military."

"Please watch what you say, Colonel," Hawkeye admonished coolly.

Havoc tilted his head. "Why do you hold such a big goal?"

Mustang stopped. "That's a stupid question," he finally said. Havoc and Hawkeye exchanged confused glances. "When I'm in control of the military…" Havoc and Hawkeye leaned in attentively to their commanding officer. "…all female personnel will have to wear mini-skirts!" Roy finished, striking a pose.

Hawkeye hung her head, while Havoc rushed up to Mustang. "Colonel," he cried, latching on to Mustang's leg. "I'll follow you anywhere."

"Good," Mustang boomed. Hawkeye silently marched past the two unprofessional imbeciles she worked with, her face carefully expressionless.

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Hughes yelled into the microphone in the middle of the parade ground surrounded by military personnel who had come out to watch the famed Fullmetal Alchemist battle the Flame Alchemist. "Today, we have a special treat for you. But first…" Hughes pulled a cord and whipped off a blanket off a huge board. "This is my daughter who has just turned three this year," he announced with a flourish, proudly displaying the towering picture of Elicia clutching a teddy bear.

"What?" the outraged crowd demanded, throwing whatever they could find at the board. Rocks, brooms, rakes, and shoes pummeled Hughes' poor darling daughter. A couple missiles hit the top, and with a groan, the board toppled over onto a futilely waving Hughes.

Minutes later, the Lieutenant Colonel reemerged on the parade ground bandaged up, but none the worse for wear. "Now for the main event," he announced. "In the Red Corner is the Flame Alchemist, Roy Mustang."

Roy stood impassively, flanked as usual by Havoc and Hawkeye, oblivious to the comments being hurled at him. "Give me back my girlfriend." "I want a promotion like him."

"In the Blue Corner is the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric."

Ed stood next to Al, looking painfully short compared to the hulking armor. "Where is he?" the crowd asked. "An elementary school kid?" "Do your best, bean boy!"

At this last jibe, Ed lost the leash on his very short temper and flew into a customary rage. "Who are you calling small?" he screamed, flailing his arms and legs as Al held him back.

"Niisan, you have to save your energy," Al reminded his brother.

"You're right," Ed panted. "Today is an important day. Today I get to beat the shit out of the Colonel with no consequences," he grinned. "And I'm gonna get the information about Marco."

"Do you have a plan?" Al asked nervously, wary of the gleam in his brother's eyes.

"Hit him with my fist!" Ed yelled.

Ed met Mustang in the middle of the parade ground. "I don't care about the assessment. When I win, you'll give me the information about Dr. Marco," Ed said. Mustang merely smiled.

"Ready…" Hughes turned around and started running. "Fight!" he called out when he was a good distance away from the two alchemists.

"What?" Ed cried, gazing after at Hughes' rapidly shrinking back.

"You're slow," Mustang yelled, bringing his fingers up and snapping. Flames burst from his fingertips, shooting out at the young boy.

With no time for a transmutation, Ed spun around and did the only thing he could. He ran.

"Flames are rising up in mid-air," Fuery observed with awe.

Havoc looked down at the youngest of Roy's subordinates. "Is this the first time you've seen the Colonel's moves? His gloves are made from special ignition cloth. When he rubs it together, the flint creates a spark. He adjusts the amount of oxygen in the air, and BOOM it goes," he explained, watching Ed frantically sprint around the parade grounds.

"A soldier must end the battle swiftly," Mustang instructed as Ed ran to the edge of the arena, flames licking his heels. Ed jumped over the stone barrier that held back the spectators and began to weave through the crowd, effectively hidden by the taller personnel.

Mustang smirked. "It's hard to aim for a target that's so small," he called out, waiting for the expected response from the hotheaded blond.

As predicted, Ed sprang up from the sea of soldiers, screaming, "Who are you calling short?"

"Anger your enemy to distract him," Mustang lectured. Ed's and the faces of the soldiers around him turned gray as Mustang pointed his fingers in their direction and snapped. The huge resulting explosion sent them all flying.

His uniform still clean and unmussed, Mustang stood in the midst of the smoke and rubble and looked around. "Looks like I overdid it a little," he dryly observed. A slight movement and glimpse of red caught his eye. "Hey you," he said, recognizing Fullmetal's red jacket. But as the dust cleared, Mustang saw that it was not Ed. It was a dummy wearing Fullmetal's jacket and a tongue mockingly wagging in the wind.

Mustang only had a split second for recognition to sink in. He turned at a sound behind him and saw Fullmetal rushing toward him, his auto-mail arm transmuted into a blade. Instead of feeling the makeshift sword plunge into his flesh, Mustang cursed as the steel ripped through the transmutation circle embroidered on his glove.

Ed came to a halt and spun around to face the Colonel. "Now you can't use your flames anymore," he gloated. He spread his arms wide and clapped his hands together in a flamboyant gesture then slammed them to the ground. The military spectators watched in awe as a huge cannon took shape in a matter of seconds with Ed perched on top of it.

Mustang smiled. Ed eyed him suspiciously then gaped as the colonel pulled his left hand out of his pocket, revealing another glove. Ed only had enough time to let out a strangled holler before flames engulfed his cannon.

Facedown in the remains, Ed coughed and pushed himself up into a sitting position and turned to look defiantly up at the Colonel. "Fooling someone is a valid strategy, Fullmetal," Mustang said, slightly emphasizing Ed's title.

"Finish me off," the boy demanded.

Mustang smiled and readied his fingers. "I will," he assured the younger man, looking at Ed's eyes. Another set of eyes, years ago, filled with fear flashed in his mind. Taken aback he blinked and found Ed's auto-mail sword at his throat. The two stood there in the torn up grounds, blade ready and fingers poised to snap.

Solitary applause broke the silence. The Fuhrer, flanked by Grand and his secretary approached the two duelists. "A splendid match," he praised, dropping his hands back to his sides.

At the Fuhrer's appearance, Roy stepped back from Fullmetal. "I am honored by your compliments," he saluted.

Still on one knee, Ed looked up. "Wait," he cried in frustration. "We're not done."

"Yes, but if you two continue, the damage will become harder to clean up," the Fuhrer replied, deadpan.

* * *

Hawkeye stood alongside Alphonse overlooking the ruins of what were once the parade grounds. Hawkeye held Mustang's blue military coat, and Alphonse echoed her stance with his brother's red cloak. "It can't be helped," Hawkeye said, the faint blue of a transmutation light reflected in her brown eyes. "They were ordered to clean up the mess themselves."

Amidst the rubble, Roy yawned and sat on one of the many rocks he had created during the battle. "This is why I didn't want to do this," he complained, leaning forward on his shovel. His white collared shirt clung to his body, damp with sweat, sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

Ed clapped his hands and transmuted another area of rock. "Colonel, why didn't you finish me off?"

"Huh?" Roy looked over his shoulder at Ed.

"You had enough time," Ed pointed out.

Roy turned back around. "The East Rebellion was many years ago," he began.

"You mean the one where the Ishvalians rose up against the military?"

Roy nodded. "Many people died at our hands. Many soldiers died. Dr. Marco left the battlefield and never returned." He looked down at his hands. Images of a scorched land and dying people flashed through his head. "I still believe that he was the sanest man there."

Roy looked back up at Ed. "You should go to see him."

"He's still alive?" Ed asked in disbelief. At Roy's nod, Ed smiled. "Colonel, you still haven't told me why you didn't finish the attack." He looked out at the sunset and at the rubble they still had to clean up. He had gotten the information he'd needed. Some things, he mused, were better left unsaid. "Never mind. Never mind."

* * *

Riza Hawkeye considered the squirming puppy in Fuery's arms. "If no one else will take him, I will," she said matter-of-factly to the officers' astonishment.

"Oh thank you, First Lieutenant," Fuery gushed gratefully. The fidgety puppy finally wriggled his way to the floor. With a happy bark, he scampered to the wall, lifted his hind leg, and proceeded to relieve himself of the water Fuery had given him earlier.

Fuery watched slightly embarrassed. "Hey now, you can't do that just because you have an owner now," he lectured to the unabashed puppy.

The rest of what he was going to say was cut off by the cocking of a gun. Fuery swiveled his head to gape at the blond lieutenant as she fired off a round of shots. Around the room, jaws dropped.

The smoke cleared to reveal a shaking puppy standing up on his hind legs, his front two paws stretched above his head. In a neat circle around him, the bullets were buried in the wall.

Pulling up her gun, the corners of Hawkeye's mouth curved upwards. "I discipline strictly," she said simply. "Come now," she said gently, walking up to the dog. She placed her gun back in the holster that hung comfortably on her hip. "This way to the bathroom, Black Hayate" she cooed. Hawkeye went into the adjoining bathroom with her new pet, leaving behind a speechless office.

Fuery recovered his voice first. "Black Hayate?" he managed, tears pouring down his face. Who named their dog after a hurricane?

* * *

Ed and Al both stood in an alleyway near East HQ facing the wall.

"It wouldn't be fair to ask the Colonel to take care of him," Ed finally said, looking downwards. The object of his attention placed its paws at the edge of the cardboard box and meowed.

Al considered the information Ed had relayed to him. "Equivalent trade," he agreed.

With a sigh, Ed clapped his hands together and a familiar blue light filled the alleyway, glinting off Al's metal. Ed dropped his hands to his side. "Sorry this is all I can do for now," he apologized, turning and walking out of the alley.

Al stood where he was, saying goodbye to the striped kitten. Soon, he, too, turned and followed his older brother out of the alleyway leaving the kitten cozily ensconced in a blue buggy.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Reviews & comments more than welcome. Last night after hitting the gym, I felt creative and did most of episode 14, so I'm back on track. Just need to do some editing and it'll be ready. 


	13. 14 Right Hand of Destruction

Sorry as usual for the delayed update. I did this last week as a study break.

Disclaimer: usual.

**14 The Right Hand of Destruction**

The once sparkling streets of Lior were stained with blood, dirt and ruin. Bodies littered the streets alongside debris and broken glass. Plaster crumbled from houses and store fronts. Those homes that hadn't been completely reduced to rumble had been ransacked and trashed. The holy city of Lior had fallen from grace. Hell was marching through the streets leaving despair and broken hopes in its wake.

"If the head priest can bring about miracles with the Philosopher's Stone, why did it turn out like this?" A man in his thirties brandished a makeshift pipe spear with one hand and shook the collar of the nearly unconscious man with the other. Other Lior citizens gathered around, blood and dirt long worked into the fabric of their torn clothes.

"Please stop the fighting. Please stop the fighting." The broadcast repeated over and over.

More Lior citizens gathered in the main courtyard where Cornello had once demonstrated his miracles. With rope and sheer determination, they tugged at the huge statue of Leto at the front of the mansion church. Another crowd fought wildly with the church officials, demanding the head priest come out.

Along the circumference of the courtyard, blue military officials lined up with rifles and cannons. A middle-aged officer, with still a full head of brown hair, raised his palm in the air. His light brown eyes registered no emotion as he looked at the rebellious crowd. With a simple jerk of his hand, he let loose the fire.

Other soldiers trotted obediently through the town, rifles at ready. In a small deserted house, ten children huddled behind a pitiful fortress of overturned tables. A teenage girl with long brown hair and pink bangs drew them close to her. Her simple beige dress was discolored with tears and dirt.

"Rose, we don't to have to fight, right?" a seven-year old olive-skinned boy asked.

Rose looked down into the wide, frightened eyes and shook her head with a small, reassuring smile. "With whom?" It was an adult's battle being waged in their small town. Not a battle for those too young to understand the meaning of religion let alone death.

* * *

The courtyard was stained red. The statute of Leto still stood on the platform as the blood of the peasants seeped into the sandy ground. The stone was unmovable, unyielding, untouchable and unforgiving.

Up above, a voluptuous woman leaned one black clad hip against the railing and raked disinterested violet eyes over the carnage below. She remained far removed from the scene from her vantage point high up in the castle. "Foolish, aren't they? Humans are so foolish."

"Foolish, foolish." Her short, round companion echoed her, his beady eyes peering through the iron railing bars.

"When things proceed this smoothly, their foolishness is rather refreshing."

Lust lazily turned her attention to the newcomer, her long curls curling at her full breasts. "Why, hello there, Head priest, sir."

The head priest emerged from the stairwell and strolled into the drafty room. "I just urged the believers on a little," he said, referring to the mass panic and bloody massacre that played out beneath them. "The believers started killing each other and the military has made the situation worse in an attempt to stop them."

"No matter how many times they repeat it, they never learn from their mistakes." Lust idly noted the cannons protruding out of the stands in the court area and the bloody corpses lying across them. "Humans are sad, foolish creatures."

"We're doing all this to create the Philosopher's Stone. Now I can finally" – a sizzle of light ran its way down the priest's form – "return to my cute form." Where Cornello once stood, a lithe young man clad in a black, cropped tank top and shorts now negligently struck a pose. With a grin, he flicked back long, black hair held away from his face with a green headband.

Lust arched an eyebrow. "That again? You sure like to look young."

"I don't have a choice, do I?" Envy shrugged. "I forget what my original form looked like."

The Sins turned at a sound coming up the stairway. A bewildered Cray stood at the top. "What's going on here?" he demanded, his eyes frantically scanning the three strangers. He had just seen Head Priest Cornello come up here. "Where's the head priest? Where's the real head priest?"

"What shall we do?" Lust languidly straightened from the railing, her long dress rippling with the slight movement.

"Tell him the truth. The head priest is already…"

Gluttony interrupted Envy's careless explanation. "Can I eat him?" He toddled a few steps towards the panic-stricken accountant.

The last thing Cray saw was a giant tongue tattooed with an intricate circle.

* * *

Envy leaned over the railing next to Lust. "Now that you mention it, I just received information about that guy. He left Central and is headed for East City."

"That State Alchemist killer?" The woman frowned, but the expression left no creases on her flawless skin. "In East City there's the Flame Colonel and –"

"The Fullmetal kid right now," Envy finished.

"That child is the closest person to our goal. We can't let anything happen to him."

"Lust," Gluttony's voice cut into their hushed conversation. He waved a bloody hand in their direction. "I'm done eating."

"Wipe your mouth, Gluttony," she instructed. She turned back to Envy. "So what was that guy called?"

* * *

"Scar? A man with a scar?"

Roy sat up a little in the bar stool, rumpling an already wrinkled uniform. He took another sip of his whiskey and let the liquid burn its way down his throat. Drinks with Hughes were the best way to end a week of Hawkeye's relentless vigilance, but tonight the tone of their usual conversation had taken on darker undertones.

"We don't have his true identity yet," Hughes divulged quietly. "There are eyewitnesses who say he has a big scar on his forehead, so we call him that."

"Is he the guy who killed the State Alchemists in Central City?

"Nine of them." Hughes eyes never left the amber liquid sitting untouched in his glass. "Four in Central City alone, and in this entire country, nine State Alchemists have fallen victim to him. If we include the victims who were around them, the count easily surpasses twenty. Victims were found with wounds that indicated that they were detonated form the inside. His weapons and motives are unknown. That's why the people in Central Headquarters got scared."

"So they've come here on vacation and are saying they're here to escort the Fuhrer as an excuse," Roy surmised. "The killer won't come chasing them here?"

"You're here as well," pointed out Hughes. "The ones who gave you the demotion three years ago know about your skilled abilities."

Roy's thin lips twisted wryly. "I'm starting to want to run away as well," he admitted sardonically.

"The problem is his next target."

Further elaboration was cut off by a cute barmaid. She dimpled at Hughes. Maes immediately flushed. "I'm sorry," he stammered, "but I have a cute daughter who's going to turn three soon…"

"It's a phone call for you." She offered him the phone with a smile.

Hughes' anxiety quickly deflated. Glacier and Elicia were his world, but a guy could live with a little flattery, couldn't he? With a slump of his shoulders, he picked up the heavy receiver. "Hello, this is Hughes." Hughes' light-hearted tone turned serious. "What…Major? I understand." He hung up the receiver and got to his feet. "They found a soldier's dead body at East City station."

Roy took another sip of his drink. "Was he destroyed from the inside?"

Hughes nodded.

* * *

It was horrible. It was just like the ones before. The soldier's limp body slumped against the wall, blood exploding outwards on the stone in a grotesquely brilliant splay of red. It was almost art.

* * *

Ed and Al strode through the small, quiet town on the outskirts of East City. The softly rolling hills reminded Al a little of their hometown. 

They stopped to ask a man pulling about the whereabouts of the elusive doctor. The brawny man paused and set down the large cart of corn stalks. He wiped his forehead with the edge of a blue work glove.

"Dr. Marcoh?"

"You mean Dr. Mauro?" his young son asked.

"No, Marcoh."

"But there's only one doctor in this village. Dr. Mauro." The man pointed a beefy finger down the quiet road. The brothers thanked them for their time and went in the direction he had indicated.

They paused near three middle-aged men who sat on stools near the town's outer wall. "As you can see, the people living near this road are poor. It'd take us half a day to get to a doctor in East City," one man explained. He squinted at the two boys from behind thick bottle glasses.

They continued on the path and encountered more and more of the town's inhabitants full of praise for the good doctor. No one seemed to mind talking to a suit of armor and a young boy wearing too many layers of clothes for the hot weather.

"He's a good man," said an elderly woman with a slight hunch and a cane. "He even sees the patients who were abandoned by other doctors."

A farmer they passed told them how the doctor cured his leg when he got it stuck in a cultivator and almost died. "During the operation, I saw a bright light," his six-year old daughter added. His wife agreed with a smile over the armful of grass she held.

"A light."

"It was alchemy," Ed agreed. He and Al had left the center of town and now broodingly strolled the outskirts. "This person is Dr. Marcoh, all right."

"But he's running away from the military, right? Why did he become a doctor? Rumors about him will spread."

Ed tensed up suddenly. He threw himself to the side, tackling an unsuspecting Al into a nearby pile of hay.

Al managed to pop his head out of the top. A white-gloved hand reached up and shoved the metal helmet back down. "That was mean," Al complained. He hunched inside the haystack. He didn't know haystacks could be so large. "Straws are coming in." He fidgeted as more stalks poked in through the metal gratings of his armor.

Ed shushed him. A large man in a black overcoat stood in the middle of the road. He pulled off his blue military cap and surveyed the empty fields. All he saw was acres and acres of green and yellow and the vast blue sky.

"Who's that?"

Ed noted the muscular build and shining head bald but for a single blond curl in the front. "He's one of the State Alchemists who came from Central City with the Fuhrer," he answered.

"Why is he here? Did he follow us?"

"The colonel said that he didn't report Marcoh's location to the military." The State Alchemist gave up and tugged his cap back on. Ed watched carefully as he disappeared in the direction they had been headed. Sure it was safe, he pushed his way out of the haystack and brushed off the stalks that clung to his black pants and jacket. He ignored the pieces sticking out of his hair. It kind of blended in anyway. "Let's hurry," he called into the haystack. "Marcoh's house should be near."

Al's head popped through the top once again, straw protruding out from any and every opening in the armor. Now he knew what the scarecrows he and Ed used to play around with felt like.

* * *

Ed barely dodged them in time. Two bullets sped past his underarm, embedding themselves into the concrete wall behind him instead of his chest.

"Hey now, we just …"

The middle-aged doctor stood in his front doorway. The craggy features and salt-and-pepper hair lent the image of a gruff and kind country doctor, with the exception of gun clasped between his two hands currently pointed at the young boy in front of him. "You said you're a State Alchemist? Did you come to take me back there?"

Al spoke up from behind his brother. "Um, you're the Crystal Alchemist, Dr. Marcoh, right?"

The doctor's knuckles whitened on the gun at the sound of his second name. "I don't want to go back there. Please." There was a more desperation and plea in his voice than threatening anger. Which made the gun he held all the more dangerous.

"That's not it." He had faced ferocious chimeras and axe murders with aplomb, but Ed still couldn't bring himself to look down the barrel of his possible impending death. He kept his arms raised in the air and squeezed his eyes shut. "We just came to ask you a few things."

"Please, that's dangerous." Al motioned for the doctor to put the gun aside. As a hollow suit of armor, it held infinitely more danger for his brother, but some lessons had been firmly drilled in years ago. Like guns are dangerous.

"Did you come to get rid of me?" Sweat beaded at his graying temples. "I won't let you kill me. I…I…"

The hulking armor rose to its full height and slowly approached the trembling doctor. The barrel was straight in-line with its heart. Al calmly stood before the older man.

"It's okay." Al wasn't sure if he was reassuring his brother or the doctor whose violent trembling increased twofold. "I won't die even if you kill me," he said quietly. Al took another half step forward, bringing the metal chest plate in contact with the metal gun.

The doctor's shaking arms could no longer hold the weapon up. Resigned, he dropped his arms to his sides. "I see." His gray eyes took in the resolute suit of armor. "So you're the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"No." The suit of armor was pushed to the side, and the shorter, blonde boy came forward. "I am. Me."

* * *

Empty and full glass bottles and jars filled bookshelves around the spartan room. Next to the bed was Marcoh's surgical tray, the gun harmlessly juxtaposed next to two bottles of painkillers and a scissors and bandages. Al sat at the end of the plain bed next to the large, wide table Marcoh and Ed presently occupied.

"I ran from the battlefield," Marcoh began. "And stole the research data I had. The military might still be after that data."

Both brothers leaned forward anxiously. Ed actually stood up out of his chair. This could bring them one step closer to their goal.

"We're doing research on human transmutation," Ed began eagerly.

"I can't" – the doctor's voice was abrupt and gruff – "show you anything." His head was lowered, his eyes squeezed shut as if trying to keep out the flood of unpleasant memories. "Although I was ordered to do it, I was involved in the research of that thing. And it was used in the massacre during the East Rebellion." He lost the battle and clutched his head with both hands.

"Massacre? Do you mean the rebellion of Ishbal?"

"It was horrible. A really terrible battle." He could see the regiments of blue uniforms, rifles held at their shoulders, ammunition clattering heedlessly to the streets of the small town. "Women, children, everyone was killed. There was no reason." In his mind, he wandered down the deserted streets littered with broken windows, broken homes and bodies.

He laced his fingers together tightly and rested his forehead against them, almost as if in fervent prayer. "The Ishbal people opposed the military. That was enough. I cannot atone for what I did, not even with my life. But I still wanted to do something. That's why I'm a doctor here." He looked up at the young boy across of him. A boy of a generation of children he hoped would never have to witness the things he had. "Go home."

Ed's surprise at the soft order quickly slid into anger. He had quit being a child three years ago and he was tired of people judging him as one. Ed slammed his palms on the wooden table. "I am a state alchemist. I have a right to see your research," he demanded.

Marcoh closed his eyes. "You're very small…" Al heard the word as it escaped the unwitting doctor's mouth and slung his arms under his brother's to prevent the habitual attack. Marcoh continued, oblivious to Ed's restrained temper tantrum. "But you probably took the test because of the abundant research funds and the numerous privileges." What a foolish boy – young and naïve. "If you'd been at the scene of that rebellion…"

"I know," Ed hurled the words at the condescending older man, "that I'm doing something stupid. But still…"

Marcoh looked away, unable to hold the intensity of those golden eyes. An intensity, a determination, that had yet to be tainted by the mercilessness of war. No, maybe not untainted. There lurked a maturity there that spoke of hardship and acceptance that that was how life was.

Al decided to intervene. "Dr. Marcoh, you treated some babies in Xenotime five years ago, didn't you? One of those babies is now healthy."

The doctor faltered. Ed watched him with hawk eyes. Marcoh's eyes slid almost imperceptibly to the right.

Ed ran to the wall in the direction of the doctor's slight. He splayed his palms against the white surface and lightly tapped the area. He stepped back, reckless determination glinting in his eyes. Quickly assessing the composition of the thin plaster, Ed clapped and slapped his palms against it.

A hole opened in the wall.

Marcoh got to his feet. "You did that without a transmutation circle?" What was this boy?

Three tiny glass bottles lay neatly in a box. Each was about the length of Ed's finger and filled with a red liquid. He picked one up with two fingers and held it up to catch more light. It wasn't the water from Xenotime. It was a lot clearer than that stuff.

"Stop that." Marcoh rushed forward.

"Niisan!" Ed yelped as Al's large gloves lifted him up from behind. "Niisan, that's not polite."

"Let me go!" Ed kicked, but Al just hoisted him higher.

"Niisan!"

"I said let go of me!" The bottle flew from Ed's fingers and shattered on the wooden floor. Both brothers stilled in mid-motion to watch as the liquid gelled and formed a solid red stone.

They knelt over the stone, carefully examining its composition and density without touching it. "It's not liquid."

"Niisan, this looks like the thing the head priest at Lior had."

The door slammed. Ed and Al stood as a military officer barged in, rifle drawn.

"The Sorcerer's Stone." An imposing man with a handlebar mustache strode through the doorway. "The Astral Stone, Elixir, the Red Tincture, and the Fifth Element. As the various names imply, it does not necessarily have to be a stone." He passed a petrified Marcoh and picked up the stone.

"Brigadier General Grand…"

"Brigadier General?" Marcoh's voice held a tint of irony. "You've received many promotions, I see."

Grand turned his attention to the salt and peppered doctor. "The Crystal Alchemist," he both acknowledged and accused. "Hand over the Philosopher's Stone and its research data."

Everything clicked. That thing between the Brigadier General's fingers was what the brothers had searched all of Amestris for. The Philosopher's Stone.

"This was created as an experiment of the devil," Grand explained, towering over Ed from his impressive height. "We do not know when it will reach its limit and become unusable. It's unstable, incomplete and far from the real thing. But it amplified our abilities during the rebellion and showed a tremendous effect."

Marcoh closed his eyes. Everything he had run away from had finally caught up to him.

_Grand held his right barrel arm before him. The stone imbedded in the front glowed, engulfing his entire body. When the light cleared, two dozen cannons protruded from the metal base encasing his frame. _

"Does that mean that the military did research on the Philosopher's Stone a long time ago?"

"Although it's incomplete, it was created by human hands, which means it's possible to create the Philosopher's Stone." Hope shone in Ed's eyes. "Where's the method to create it?"

Grand cast a disdainful glance upon the diminutive alchemist. "And what are you going to do after you see it, Fullmetal Alchemist? The research is top secret and under my jurisdiction. You do not have permission to read the data." He completely ignored the dropping of the proud boy's shoulders. "Let's go," he ordered his men.

Two soldiers seized the doctor by his arms. Ed looked up at Marcoh's pleas and struggles. They dragged him out of the house and into the waiting military vehicle. Neighbors had heard the commotion, or saw the unusual car parked outside the doctor's house, and had congregated outside.

"No, please release me," Marcoh pleaded as they forcibly carried him past the concerned crowd. "I don't want to go back there." His gruff voice was laced with desperation and panic. "I don't want to go back. I'm sick of that place, please. I hate that place. I don't want to."

Ed and Al stood motionless at the top of the stairs. Watched as the doctor was dragged past all the people that had come to respect and cherish him in their lives. Watch as he was dragged out of those lives. And it was their fault. It was just like that time with Nina. Nina in a cage, locked up in the back of Grand's car, driving away from him because he couldn't protect her.

The car pulled away, past the young mothers and their children, the working fathers, the elderly. No, Ed couldn't let it happen again. He sprinted down the stairs and after the vehicle.

_I haven't grown at all. _His boots pounded on the packed road._ I can't let my heart remain a little kid. _

The car skidded and swerved to a halt. A man stood at the front of the car in the middle of the street. He stoically faced the car and placed the palm of his right hand on the hood. In a burst of red, the car disintegrated taking the two lower-ranked officials with it.

Grand and Marcoh lay on the ground and coughed the debris from their lungs. The man strode forward through the smoke with ominous steps.

He wore a dark yellow jacket and dark sunglasses partially covering a large scar across his forehead and eyes. Ed studied him closer. He looked familiar. Where had he seen that X-shaped scar before?

"The Iron Blood Alchemist, Basque Grand." Grand got to his feet and faced the approaching stranger.

"Sorry, but you've caught me at a bad time." Grand was always prepared for battle, but even more so at this very moment. "Right now, I have this!" He reached into his pocket and grasped the red stone.

Ed's eyes widened. He didn't know how, but he knew what was going to happen. He yelled for the man to stop.

With a powerful lunge forward, Scar thrust his palm into Grand's face. The Brigadier General's fist had just cleared his pocket. But it was too late. Red light swirled around the two men. Blood spurted, exploding out of the back of the Brigadier General's head. Grand's body folded at the knees and collapsed lifeless to the ground.

The red stone fell to the ground and bounced once to land at Ed's feet. Ed didn't even notice. _If I remember correctly, he's the guy I met three years ago in Central City._

The man turned to the young blonde. Even through the tint of the sunglasses, Ed could feel the burn of his gaze. With slow, sure steps, he stalked the alchemist. Ed quivered, pinned to the spot by the intensity, yet sheer lack of emotion emanating from the murderer.

He was well aware of the danger. Too well aware. But it was as if the sun had melted the rubber of his boots to the ground. His knees trembled.

The man shifted his attention to the right of the young alchemist. His eyes came to rest on the doctor, still kneeling in the dirt. "The Crystal Alchemist, Doctor Marcoh. I heard you were dead." He walked toward the doctor. There was no emotion in his deep voice, just solemn acceptance of the reality he had conceived. "I'll have to kill you thoroughly." He raised a hand still stained with the blood of Basque Grand.

"You're…" Marcoh bowed his head. "I see. I must accept my fate then."

"In the name of God, die."

The barest moment before his palm made contact with the doctor, Ed grabbed the older alchemist by the sleeve of his brown jacket and ran. He didn't know where to, just away. He dashed down the streets, dragging the doctor behind him.

"Edward," Marcoh began.

"Don't give up like that." Ed didn't even look back. "Run."

All the man had seen was a flash of red. "The Fullmetal Alchemist?" He turned in the direction of his fleeing prey and saw the red coat flapping in the wind followed closely by the doctor. "I won't let you get away."

Ed noted his pursuer. He knows about me? What's going on? I don't think I did anything to make people mad. Well, actually, he hedged, I did. But I didn't do anything to deserve to be killed.

They turned the corner off the main road. "Niisan, this way." Al peeked out from a small archway in the stonewall that separated the town. Ed and Dr. Marcoh ducked in and Al closed the opening with a transmutation circle he had sketched beforehand in preparation.

The Fullmetal and Crystal Alchemists leaned over and gasped for breath. Ed shot his younger brother a grateful smile. They had just caught their breath when the new section of the wall was engulfed in red and exploded into bits.

The man with the scar stood at the new circular entrance, right hand still outstretched. Al scooped up the doctor in his metal arms and the three of them ran in the opposite direction further into the tunnel.

Unperturbed at the escape of his prey, Scar merely lifted his hand to the tunnel wall. Red light shot out and raced across the stone surface, crumbling the stone as it hurtled down the tunnel. Ed and Al came to a halt as the tunnel caved in front of them.

Ed turned at the approaching boot steps to face his would-be executioner. Edward Elric never cowered and never backed down. "Who are you," he demanded. "Why are you after us?"

"If you are the ones who create, then there are ones who destroy." As far as answers went, the cryptic statement didn't quite meet Ed's standards.

Marcoh was back on his feet. "Edward, leave me here and run!"

As always, Ed ignored any voice of reason or authority. His golden eyes never leaving the man in front of him, he clapped his gloved hands and reached for a piece of pipe sticking out of the debris behind him. Blue light flashed and Ed brandished the sword in front of him. Al followed suit and brought his arms up.

Scar eyed the young alchemist standing bravely before him. "You have good eyes. My older brother had eyes like yours. Strong eyes that look like they're gazing off into the distance." Ed's gaze didn't waver. His attention was centered on the man before him. He had already assessed his surroundings and carefully judged the distance between the two of them. "Three years ago, was it? I heard that you quit being a State Alchemist and I was pleased by that."

"Sorry to hear that." Ed's apology was anything but sincere. He leapt forward and slashed with the sword. With superb reflexes, Scar dodged the attack and spun toward Ed, hand outreached.

"You're too slow!" His hand descended.

"Niisan!" Al rushed forward.

Red light flooded the narrow tunnel for the briefest of seconds.

Ed fell to the floor in a heap just past Al. Al sat up and looked down at his arm. His right forearm was cracked and dented where Scar's hand had struck.

"Al!"

"Don't get the wrong idea. I was trying to destroy human flesh, so you got away with just that crack." Scar faced the suit of armor. "Stay out of this. Only State Alchemists are my enemies."

"Why? Why us?"

"Alchemists transform objects into evil things. That is blasphemy to the creator of all things, God. I am God's representative and executioner."

Aside from the fray, Marcoh's eyes widened at the man's statement.

"I'm an alchemist as well," Al asserted. "Even though I'm not a state alchemist."

Scar slanted a glance at the persistent suit of armor. "Why do you endanger yourself?"

"You mentioned your brother earlier. So you must understand. I can't just watch and let you kill my brother. Even you—"

"I do understand. The feeling I had when the only thing I could do was watch my brother get killed." Scar's shoulders almost shook with suppressed emotion. "That's why I'm now—"

Ed saw his opportunity and lunged once more. His attack was stopped in mid-air. Scar gripped Ed's right arm in his right hand. Ed met bland eyes behind the dark glasses. "I told you that you're too slow."

Red flashed and Ed was hurled backwards. He landed hard on the stone floor about ten feet away. Scar observed the relatively unharmed boy and turned a puzzled frown on his hand.

Ed struggled to his feet. His red coat was torn and what was left of it clung to his metal arm in tatters.

"An auto-mail. So that right hand of yours can only create destruction as well?"

Ed growled. "Don't treat my right arm like yours." He brought his hands together and transmuted it into his favored auto-mail blade. He vaulted forward, but his attack was interrupted by another explosion. Yellow bursts of debris flew into the tunnel and Scar danced away, nimbly avoiding the blasts.

The smoke cleared from the obstruction Scar had created and the military soldier Ed and Al had seen earlier that day stepped into the tunnel.

Ed was completely taken aback. "The State Alchemist?"

Al brought his arms up in defense against the newcomer. "Did you come to capture Dr. Marcoh?"

The major strode past the doctor and the suit of armor, much to their surprise. Ed tensed as he approached him, but looked up in surprise as a heavy hand settled on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he finally said. "I was asked by the Lieutenant Colonel to guard you, but…"

Ed couldn't hide his surprise. "What? You mean Lieutenant Colonel Hughes?"

The towering man nodded. He turned his attention to Scar. "Representative of God, try to execute me, the Strong Arm Alchemist, Alex Louis Armstrong." He brandished metal gloves that encased his great hands, transmutation circles etched on the backs of each.

Scar recovered his composure quickly and his lips curved upwards. "I am blessed today. This saves me the time of finding you all." Anticipation gleamed in his eyes from behind the dark glasses. "This must be the help of God."

"I will show you the artistic alchemy method that has been passed down through the Armstrong family for generations." The major hefted a dense rock in his hand. He shot it up into the air and drove a spiked fist into it midair. Yellow light danced down the tunnel in the wake of the powerful missile. Scar flattened himself to the side of the wall and his jacket rippled as it ripped past him.

Armstrong launched another one, this time raising stone spikes across the tunnel floor.

* * *

Rose sat protectively in front of the young children in the deserted room, her arms splayed out to both sides. "As you can see, there are only children here," she said to the soldiers, defiance flashing in her brown eyes. "The guerrillas you're looking for aren't here."

General Hakuro snorted and knelt in front of the spirited slip of a girl. He tipped her stubborn chin up with his fingers. "So does this mean you've abandoned Cornello's teachings?" He released her. "Then tell us where the culprits who are against the military are hiding."

"No."

The slap resonated in the room. His palm left a large red imprint on her dark skin. "We've come here to liberate the city from Cornello. Don't you understand that?"

She fought back the tears that had involuntarily sprung to her eyes. The children. She had to protect the children. They had no part in this war. "This city is our homeland. We're going to move forward by ourselves, even if we can only move slowly. We have our own legs." She echoed Ed's last words to her. She hadn't understood them then. But the blood and the hunger and the death had made her see.

* * *

Ed's lungs burned, but they were almost there. Ed, Al and Marcoh raced to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Marcoh stumbled on the grass and collapsed in the soft foliage. Both State Alchemists gasped for breath. Al just stood to the side. Having a body that never tired did have its few perks. He unconsciously cradled his dented right forearm.

Ed held the stone out to the doctor between metal fingers. Marcoh stared at the stone being offered to him. "You dropped it." He placed it in the doctor's hand.

"Didn't the idea of running away with this cross your mind?"

"You use that to treat injuries at your clinic, right?" A smile flickered across Ed's face. "I can't forget the faces of the people who talked about you today." The beefy farmers, the elderly woman, the young family. "Both that stone and you belong to them."

Marcoh grasped the stone and drew it closer to his chest. Yes, this boy had a maturity beyond his years. Beyond even his own.

"Can you walk?" Ed put his hands on his hips. "Then let's go," he said at Marcoh's nod, "to where the military and that guy can't chase us."

"Will we be able to run away to safety?" He was willing place his trust in this boy.

"You still have legs, don't you?"

Marcoh was struck speechless by the boy's off-handed question and the armor's reassuring nod. Just who were these two? They had dragged him out of his hiding and handed him the salvation he had sought for years.

He got to his feet. He'd been running for years already. With these two brothers, he could keep going now that his burden had been lightened.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! R&R please 


	14. 15 Ishbal Massacre

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist in any way. I wrote this just for fun. Most of the dialogue is based off A-Keep subtitles and my knowledge of Japanese.

* * *

**15 Ishbal Massacre**

The blond major walked toward the renegade murder. The man who had killed nine, make that ten, state alchemists, known only to the military as Scar. "Representative of God, try to execute me, the Strong Arm Alchemist, Alex Louis Armstrong."

With the heave of his mighty fists, he launched solid rock missiles at the smaller man. Bursts of yellow projectiles filled the tunnel and large spikes erupted from the ground. Scar sliced through the sharp rock with an answering red crackle of light.

Major Armstrong's military jacket was flung into the air, displaying a thickly defined torso and bulging muscles. A fanciful person might have even said there were pink sparkles glistening around the glorious male specimen. "Behind destruction exists creation! And behind creation exists destruction. Destroy then create. This is the law of the universe."

"I'll deal with you after I kill the Fullmetal and Crystal Alchemists."

A muscle beneath Armstrong's left eye twitched. With a low grunt, he drew back a powerful fist. Scar barely dodged the surely fatal blow, the steel gloves grazing the rims of his glasses. The tinted sunglasses broke on the stone floor.

Scar's eyes narrowed imperceptibly. He noted the alchemist's superbly executed combination of strength and alchemy. It made things much more difficult.

Major Armstrong remained in the same position, fists still at ready. But his fingers were limp. The man did indeed have a large, white, X-shaped scar. But Armstrong's blue eyes were riveted on the murderer's. They were red. Red eyes. Brown skin and red eyes. That could only mean…

Scar took advantage of the major's hesitation. With lightning quick steps, he darted behind the larger man and slammed a glowing red palm against the stone tunnel wall. Armstrong shielded his eyes from the smoke and bits of debris that exploded into the air.

"I thought your God forbids alchemy."

Scar lowered his hand from the gaping hole he had created and leveled a glance at Armstrong.

The major mentally reassessed his opponent. The transmutation process could be described in three steps: understanding, decomposing and reassembling. Scar must be stopping the transmutation process at the second step, decomposition. "You are using alchemy."

"I only do what this arm tells me to do." His eyes widened and his pupils contracted to fierce dots of hazel. Scar lifted said arm and fisted it. "Even if it goes against God's will." With those words, more spikes burst out of the floor. Yellow light immediately countered it. Red and yellow danced a ferocious tangle amidst the crash and bang of rock and stone.

The explosion could be heard for miles.

* * *

Rain dripped from the stark edges of Central's buildings, coating the city in a drab gray.

Ed peeked out of the alley he, Al and Dr. Marcoh were hiding in. Thankfully, due to the rain, there were very few people about. Too bad it wasn't just normal people they were worried about. The three dashed across the street and paused under the shelter of a small café.

"Niisan, what are we going to do now?"

"I want to get as far away from that sunglasses guy as possible."

A large black dog began to bark at an oncoming car. Usually, Ed ignored such disturbances, but today was no ordinary day. Wariness tingled from tips of his ears to his toes.

Three black military issue sedans slowly made their way down the street. Ed pushed Marcoh behind one of the café's large planters. Al tried to do the same and crouch behind the adjacent planter, but his shoulders and helmet were still clearly visible. Ed turned his back to the street, careful to hide his automail arm since the sleeve of his red jacket was torn to shreds.

They remained in their positions until the three cars had passed a sufficient distance.

"Excuse me," Ed politely interrupted a passing waitress. "Can we use your back door?"

* * *

Ed marched purposefully down the alleys – no destination in mind, but his purpose clear. Protect Dr. Marcoh and themselves from the scarred man and the military.

"We're not going back to East Headquarters, are we?"

"Brigadier General Grand is involved with this," Ed answered Al's question, "which means that the Colonel probably can no longer protect Dr. Marcoh."

"And there's a lot of people from Central City there, too."

Marcoh's breath hitched. "There are other people from Central City here?"

"The Fuhrer and his party are here."

"To capture me?" Fear gleamed in his widened eyes.

"No, that's not it," Al hastily reassured him.

The sound of children's playful laughter reached their ears as they emerged from the damp alley. A scruffy group of kids ran around waving sticks at each other and a little girl and her brother played with balls of hardened mud.

Ed smiled at their carefree play and turned to head in the other direction.

Marcoh hadn't moved; his eyes were still fixed on the children, his expression somber. "It's enough. We don't have to run anymore."

Ed turned back.

"I don't care if that man kills me," Marcoh continued almost as if to himself. "He has the right to do it."

* * *

Breda heaved at the heavy concrete debris. Fuery stood behind him, worriedly clutching a rather useless shovel. He heaved once more, straining the buttons of his blue uniform.

"Colonel!" Breda's shout drifted out of the large hole in the ground. "We found him!"

They found the normally ebullient major in the midst of the rubble, half propped up by a pile of debris. His torso was decorated with scrapes and bruises but nothing appeared life-endangering.

Mustang crouched down in front of the groaning Strong-Arm Alchemist. "Major!" he snapped sharply. "Hey, Major! What happened?"

A rumble of debris was punctuated by a series of "ouches." Mustang's unit looked up to see Lieutenant Colonel Hughes skittering down the ladder. With a sigh, he approached the other officers. "It's a mess here," he commented.

Havoc turned to Hughes. "Lieutenant Colonel, where's Brigadier General Grand?"

A shadow dropped over Hughes face and he slightly grimaced. "If he's still alive after what happened to him, then the great Iron Blood Alchemist is able to come back to life after being turned into a hamburger."

"But he was an expert in close combat," Fuery protested.

Hughes shrugged. He couldn't do anything about it. He slid a sidelong glance at Mustang, who acknowledged the look with an imperceptible nod.

"It's Scar," Hughes confided to Mustang in a low voice. "There's no doubt about it."

"He –" The Major's voice came out strained and relatively weak for the Armstrong's usually high decibel level. "He was an Ishbal person."

"Major, stay put!" Hughes commanded as Armstrong tried to get to his feet.

"My apologies that I could not carry out your orders, Lieutenant Colonel," he apologized, his eyes lowered to the ground. "I saw his skin and eyes." He raised his gaze to meet Hughes'. "They were indeed the traits of an Ishbalian."

"I see," Mustang said quietly. "So he has good reason to go after the State Alchemists."

* * *

Ed didn't understand. "Why do you have to be killed just because he's from Ishbal?" he demanded.

"The people of Ishbal were the ones who started the war for independence, right?" Al spoke up. As the companion and younger brother of the famous State Alchemist, Al was often underestimated and few people knew just how intelligent he was. "A lot of them died, but the military also suffered a lot of casualties, too."

"If everyone who lost a war wanted revenge, there would be a lot of avenging going on," Ed said without a hint of sarcasm.

"It wasn't a war. It was a massacre." Marcoh kept his gaze straight ahead, not looking at the young boy who had risked almost everything to find and protect him.

"The people of Ishbal were a tribe in the eastern area who worshipped Ishbala as their one and only creator. Their view of religion was different from ours. We believe that everything in this world can be solved mathematically. And we value the alchemic principle of equivalent trade. But the people of Ishbal regarded alchemy as an act of the devil that morphs objects given by God into something evil."

"Protests erupted because of that. But thirteen years ago, an officer mistakenly shot a child during an inspection. After that incident, large-scale civil wars and riots broke out." Marcoh could still see the ravaged town, the bloody civilian corpses and their red-eyed children crying over their dead mothers' bodies. "Eventually, the civil war spread throughout the entire East area and turned into a seven year war. In the final years of the war, the high ranking officials decided to use State Alchemists in the war."

_"Why?" Marcoh demanded. He stood before Grand in a tent on the outskirts of the battles. "The Ishbal people possess neither alchemic knowledge nor modern weaponry because of their teachings. Is there a meaning in trampling them even more?"_

_Grand didn't even acknowledge Marcoh's exhaustive complaints. "Did you bring it?" he asked simply._

_Marcoh drew up short. "It's still in its research phase and there should not be any reason to use it…"_

_Grand hefted the ornate gold trinket he was studying. "But the civil war continues to spread."_

_A young State Alchemist Roy Mustang stood silently behind the older alchemist, carefully concealing his dislike for the Iron Blood Alchemist._

_"But because we try to subdue them with force, more tribes support them."_

_Kimblee scoffed at Marcoh's defense of the tribes. The black-haired alchemist sat negligently on crates stacked on the side of the tent, picking at his fingernails. "Are you trying to say that the Fuhrer is doing something wrong?" He brushed off his nails and reached out his palm to Marcoh. A transmutation circle was tattooed across the tender flesh._

_"We already have thousands of military casualties, as well as civilian casualties in the tens of thousands. This is war." Grand looked Marcoh in the eye. "Crystal Alchemist, I order you to show it to me."_

_With gritted teeth, Marcoh obeyed, placing a thin wooden case on the desk. He opened the flimsy metal latch with great reluctance, revealing three tiny vials of pink liquid cushioned on a bed of white material._

_Kimblee gleefully leered at the case's contents, his fingers clawed, ready to pounce._

_Grand lifted one vial out of the case and held it up to the light. "To end the war as soon as possible, starting tomorrow, I permit the usage of transmutation amplifying devices._

"What happened after that?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"In one night, everything was wiped clean in the battlefields the State Alchemists were sent to."

_Bearing rings or pendants made of crystallized forms of the liquid, the State Alchemists' abilities were multiplied ten fold, allowing them to use their powers to annihilate. Mustang engulfed cities in flame in one snap; Armstrong uprooted villages with one punch; Grand transmuted into a human machine gun; and Kimblee set off a multitude of bombs._

_Marcoh stared dumbstruck what was not left before him. Heedless of the blood-stained ground he stood on, he gazed for miles and miles at nothing. Where villages should have been, there was absolutely nothing but ash and rubble._

* * *

Mustang gazed out the window, Hawkeye a step behind him as Armstrong lay on the hospital bed swathed in bandages. With a repressed groan Armstrong began to sit up. They turned at the sound and saluted smartly as the Fuhrer and his secretary entered the room.

* * *

"Owie!" One of the boys cried out as he fell to the ground grasping his ankle.

Without thinking, Marcoh rushed forward to kneel by the boy, beckoning him to show him the injury. He removed the stone from his back pocket and held it over the swollen ankle. The stone cast a pink glow over the injury.

"On the battlefield, I met a married couple." Marcoh directed his narrative to the Elric brothers as he continued to administer treatment to the boy. "They were doctors and they treated everyone, ally or foe."

The stone stopped glowing. "How does it feel?" he asked the boy. The boy wiggled his foot around experimentally, then beamed at the doctor. He sprang to his feet and thanked Marcoh before running off with his friends.

Marcoh's expression remained somber. "But they died."

_The shot pierced the still air of the medical building. Two bloody bodies lay atop one another on the floor. Roy stood over them, his military issue gun still held trembling in his two hands, his eyes widened and teeth gritted in horror at what he just did._

_"Colonel Grand, what is the meaning of this?" Marcoh demanded._

_"This place was a communication center for the Ishbal remnants," he replied, making notes on his clipboard. "The doctors worked with them."_

_"All they wanted to do was save as many people as possible!"_

_"The lives they save eventually kill my men."_

_Marcoh looked back at the bloody bodies of the doctors. Beneath the hand of the husband lay a shattered picture frame. Almost entirely covered by his blood was the smiling face of a blond little girl_.

* * *

_The empty beer bottle clattered to the ground. Roy stood over the stained concrete of the medical center. His haunted eyes widened and he reached for his gun – the same gun that had ended the lives of the innocent doctors. He placed the muzzle under his chin and grasped the trigger – he knew how to do it. He'd pulled it many times before._

_"Stop."_

_Roy turned at the order. Marcoh stood in the doorway in a black overcoat, a black briefcase in his hand._

_"You just followed orders. I am responsible for this. They were doctors like me and saved lives, but I…" He couldn't finish the sentence – couldn't bear to think of the heinous crimes his cursed research had done._

_"What should I do?"_

_"Can you not say anything and let me go?"_

"After that, I took the Philosopher's Stone and all documents related to it. But it was too late. The people of Ishbal were annihilated and I heard that there were few survivors." Rain dripped steadily from the doctor's salt and pepper hair.

Ed and Al had stood quietly throughout the alchemist's story. Ed finally spoke. "You don't have to die because of that."

Marcoh didn't look at the teenager. "He has a valid reason to carry out revenge."

Ed's golden eyes flashed with anger. "Revenge that involves unrelated people isn't revenge at all," he cried. "All he's doing is hiding his hate behind the title of God's Representative and pretending to be so sublime."

"But if the same thing happened to you, Niisan, I would do the same." Al's quiet rejoinder cooled Ed's temper. "That follows the principle of equivalent trade, doesn't it?"

Ed bit the inside of his lip and he lowered his gaze to the ground. "No. Revenge isn't going to bring anything back," he said softly. "You just have to live. Live and be happy."

Ed noticed the ugly dent on Al's right forearm from where Scar had grabbed him. "Here," he reached for Al's arm, "let me fix that." Ed clapped his hands and transmuted the bruised metal back into place. When he finished he turned to Dr. Marcoh. "Marcoh, would you like to hide in our hometown? It takes three days by train."

Al grinned sheepishly. "It's kind of difficult for us to return there, though."

"A family named Rockbell lives there," Ed began. He closed his mouth at the older alchemist's horrified expression.

"Rockbell," Marcoh repeated, backing away and shaking his head. "I can't go there." He spun around and ran.

* * *

The rain had come again. Central's skies were once again gray and cloudy. A very fitting day for death.

"There he is!" A soldier pointed at the fleeing Scar. A dozen military soldiers lifted their rifles and took aim. With amazing agility, Scar avoided the gunshots and turned on his pursuers.

"How foolish. So you depend on weapons developed through cursed alchemy. So…" He slammed his right palm on the hot pavement of the road. Loose threads danced wildly from the tattered edge of his ripped sleeve. His tattoo burned red and beginning from beneath his palm, the road rippled and burst into rubble. In a matter of seconds, the path of the crumbling road ran straight into the soldiers.

Startled, the soldiers scrambled to recover their balance. Having sufficiently detained them, Scar turned to finish his pursuit of the Fullmetal and Crystal Alchemists. A single gunshot rang out and a bullet whizzed past Scar's head.

"Stop right there."

Too startled to do otherwise, Scar obeyed the order. The roadway in front of him was blocked by a black sedan and half a dozen more military officers. A young man with hair the color of coal stepped forward, pulling on a white glove.

"Colonel Mustang." A blond-haired woman in uniform rushed up behind him.

Scar tensed at the name. "Mustang. A State Alchemist."

The man's black eyes narrowed. "Correct." Drops of rain clung to the black overcoat he wore over his blue military uniform and from the long bangs partially covering his eyes.

"Colonel." Riza whispered the urgent warning from behind Mustang. He threw his gun aside. Reflexively, Riza caught it.

"I am the Flame Alchemist, Roy Mustang." He raised his left hand, clearly displaying the red embroidered array on the back of his glove.

Scar smiled grimly. "Another one who goes against the path God gave us appears."

"You still want to fight me knowing who I am?"

"Colonel." Riza's strangled warning was louder and more insistent this time. She offered the gun back to her unarmed superior officer. Mustang didn't take his obsidian eyes off the renegade Ishbalite.

Without bothering with an answer, Scar sprinted towards the State Alchemist, tattooed arm outstretched. Roy pointed his fingers, poised to snap. He carefully gauged the rapidly shrinking distance between them.

"Colonel!" A booted foot swept out and knocked Mustang's feet out from under him. From her crouching position, Riza deftly twisted the handle of the Colonel's gun in her palm and unholstered the firearm at her hip with her other hand. In rapid succession, she fired both guns at the oncoming man, emptying both clips. Narrowly escaping the barrage of bullets, Scar fled to the wall of the nearest building.

Roy lifted himself to his elbows grimacing at his soiled black coat and the ache he knew he'd have the next day in his lower back. See if he'd do the paperwork Hawkeye put in front of him come tomorrow. At least his uniform wasn't completely ruined. "Lieutenant, what was that for all of a sudden?" he yelled.

Hawkeye got to her feet but didn't take her eyes off Scar. With the ease of experience, she emptied her gun's magazine and reloaded in seconds. "You're useless when it's raining, so please stay back, Colonel," she requested in a clipped voice.

Roy's jaw dropped. "That's true, the Colonel can't make any sparks when it's this damp," Havoc agreed. He frowned as his cigarette drooped in the rain. Roy reddened to the tips of his ears.

Scar placed his hand against the building and ripped a path of rubble up its side. Hawkeye took aim at the wanted murderer. "Fire!" she shouted to the other soldiers. Nimbly, Scar scaled the building using the mutilated concrete for hand and foot holds. Without so much as a scratch, he disappeared over the top of the building.

Hawkeye drew up her gun. "He's fast, isn't he?"

"Go after him," Mustang ordered the other soldiers from his position on the wet ground. He turned to the officers behind him. "Second Lieutenant Breda, go wait for Fullmetal at the station."

"Why would Edward be at the station?" Breda questioned, not making the connection.

Roy picked himself off the ground and swiped his hands futilely over his soiled uniform. "Because I'm sure he's thinking of helping Marcoh escape."

* * *

Ed's and Al's footsteps pounded down the side streets of Central. Turning into a narrow alley between two buildings, they drew in on Dr. Marcoh. "Marcoh," Ed called, "we don't want to take your research or anything away from you."

Dr. Marcoh bent at the waist and braced his hands on his knees. His breath came in harsh pants. "No. I can't go..."

Ed opened his mouth to respond, but the words never left his mouth. Gunshots rang out. A shadow fell over him as a person jumped down into the alleyway. Scar narrowed his eyes at the blond boy then turned and strode towards the still panting doctor. Al reached out and grasped the man's left upper arm.

Scar glanced up at the armor in annoyance. He wrapped the fingers of his right hand over the wrist that held him back. Al gasped, unable to free himself from the man's iron grip. "Now this time I know you're just a hollow suit of armor." The horror in Al's eyes was blinded by the red light that rippled in the air.

Ed helplessly watched as in a loud explosion, Al's right side shattered and metal shards went flying. Al crashed to the ground in a heap.

"Al!" A red haze blurred Ed's vision as he ran up to the man and attacked him with a series of kicks and punches. The taller man easily dodged the boy's impassioned blows. He caught Ed's right wrist in his hand. The stupidity and rashness of his actions dawned on Ed. His throat went dry as he helplessly eyed the wrist that held him immobile.

Scar ran his red eyes down the auto-mail and placed his right hand on the boy's forearm. Ed was paralyzed with fear. His mind was completely blank. All he could hear was the pounding of his heart in the base of his throat. The hiss of the rain faded from his conscious.

"By putting your hands together, you create a circle with your arms that circulates the power. You can't do it without this annoying arm. So I will destroy it." Red light lit up the tattoo and danced its way down Ed's arm. The force of the explosion threw Ed backwards, scattering steel parts of the complex limb all over the alley.

Al lifted himself up on his arms. Starting from his armpit, his entire right side was gone, leaving a ragged edge down his torso. "Niisan!" He shouted the warning as the alchemist murderer walked past him to where his brother lay. "Niisan, run away! Niisan!"

Ed struggled to his knees. His hair fell into his eyes and he grasped his metal right shoulder with his left hand as if trying to stem a flow of blood. With measured strides, Scar walked over to the fallen teenager and looked down dispassionately at the blond head. "I will give you time to pray to God."

Ed's finger's tightened on his shoulder, the metal grooves digging into the pads of his fingers. "I stopped believing in God a long time ago." He studied the dirty ground. Ed absently noted that it looked like the one in the alleyway where they had found Nina murdered. "You said your older brother died in Ishbal, right?"

"He was killed by a State Alchemist."

"I'm an older brother, too. Kill me. That would satisfy the equivalent trade." Ed lifted his face to his would-be executioner and looked straight into the red eyes.

"What are you talking about, Niisan!" Al screamed. "You said so yourself that revenge isn't equivalent trade!"

Ed's eyes went to his brother. "He's not a State Alchemist! I alone should be enough."

Scar paused, considering. "If I kill you, I promise not to harm your younger brother. But you are wrong, Fullmetal Alchemist. The despair I went through when I lost my brother and my people cannot be satisfied with any kind of equivalent trade."

Golden eyes burned into Scar's red ones. "Then why do you seek revenge?"

Scar lowered his hand to the boy's head.

"Niisan, what are you doing? Run!" Al's voice was hoarse with unshed tears and emotion that logically, he shouldn't have. "Stand up and run! Run!" With only one leg and his questionably stable arms, he would never be able to propel himself the ten feet to where his brother was.

Ed didn't move from where he kneeled. His gold eyes were steady on Scar's, his jaw set with determination, his fate chosen. He didn't flinch as the large hand settled on his head.

"No!" Al's voice broke. Metal shards from his shattered torso fell to the ground with the force of Al's vehemence. Unable to watch, he bent his head to the ground, the raindrops beginning to fall splattering on the ground taking the place of tears he couldn't shed. Al fisted one metal hand, clenching until he thought the metal would shatter. "Don't," he whispered agonizingly.

Suddenly, the intricate tattoo lit up a bright red. Scar froze, his arm immobilized with pain as the black lines and circles burned. He spun around. Dripping with rain water, the Crystal Alchemist stood in the middle of the alley, a red stone extended in front of him between shaking hands.

"You idiot!" Ed yelled at the older alchemist. "You were supposed to run!"

Marcoh haltingly took a step forward. He didn't take his eyes off of the glowing arm. "I'm sorry, Edward. I've seen that design before, a long time ago, in a book in Ishbal," he said. "This isn't complete, but it's still the Philosopher's Stone. After all, that design is—"

"Don't say it!" The words ripped through the air. Scar took a step towards the Crystal Alchemist.

Marcoh hurled the stone at the Ishbalite. It sailed through the air and hit Scar's outreached palm. A strangled sound of pain tore from the man's throat as the stone was absorbed into his hand. Ed watched in awe as the tattoo burned an even brighter red.

The glow quickly faded. Scar gripped his arm and glared at the alley's occupants then turned and ran. He emerged from the alley and was greeted with a semi-circle of cocked rifles. Hawkeye stood in the middle, her gun trained on the Ishbalite. Mustang stood behind her. Scar growled and slammed his right hand to the street. Red sparks radiated from his palm and crumbled the ground around him in a twenty foot radius. Taken aback, the soldiers hastily backed up.

Second Lieutenant Havoc knelt at the edge of the rubble. "Looks like he went into the sewers."

Mustang strode up beside him. "Don't follow him."

"I won't," Havoc reassured him, the corners of his lips kicked up around his cigarette. No way was he going down there with that guy.

Boots clomped on the ground and came to a halt near Mustang's group. "Hey," Hughes greeted with a grin. "Are you done?"

Roy scowled at his friend. "If you were here, you should have backed us up," he fumed.

Hughes pouted. "Shut up. Don't get normal people like me involved in your talent show of weirdos."

Sergeant Major Fuery stood flabbergasted in front of a shattered and obviously hollow Al. Only Al's head, half of his torso, arms and left leg were still intact. Barely. "Lieutenant, get rid of the human traffic," Mustang ordered softly to Hawkeye.

"Yes, sir."

With his one arm, Ed crawled over to his brother. He flung his wet hair out of his eyes. "Al, are you okay?" he asked anxiously.

Al clenched his fist and planted a solid punch on Ed's left jaw. "You idiot!"

Ed reeled from the blow. He blinked a few times to clear his spinning vision. "What the hell was that for?" he demanded angrily.

"Why didn't you run?"

"You would have been killed!" Ed exclaimed.

"That's not a good enough reason to choose death, stupid."

"Don't call your older brother stupid!" Ed's concern gave way to anger. Surprise flickered over his face as Al's right fist closed over the front of his red cloak, yanking him closer.

"I'll tell you as many times as needed," Al retorted heatedly. "Live. You have to live. We have to survive and keep researching alchemy so we can return to our natural bodies." Al's white eyes burned with fire. "Something like dying…I won't allow you to do it alone!"

Ed had the grace to look chagrined. Then the hand holding him by the collar fell limp and the whole arm clattered to the ground. "Look," Al stormed. "Now my arm fell off, stupid." Upset at his stubborn brother and his inability to have saved him, Al futilely swung his other arm at his brother.

Ed looked down and his lips curved upwards in a wry smile. "Look at us. We're all bust up. Totally uncool."

Al calmed down, returning to his rational self. "But we're still alive," he added softly.

"Yeah, we're alive."

Major Armstrong stood with Mustang at the mouth of the alley. "I've never heard of a soul transmutation," he breathed, noting what was left of the hollow armor.

Mustang gazed at the two battle-worn brothers. So young, yet they had gone through so much. Much more than any adult could have ever imagined. "He must have been very desperate to attempt it," he replied. "That's probably why the bond between those brothers is so strong." Filial loyalty was one thing, but what bound those two brothers together was much stronger than mere blood and DNA.

Hawkeye's brisk footsteps stopped right behind the Colonel. "Colonel," she whispered, "the Fuhrer's secretary."

"The Fuhrer's secretary?" he repeated, his surprise evident in his voice.

A pale, slender woman stepped out of black sedan. She smoothed her gray suit. A soldier held an umbrella over her, shielding her from the rain. Hawkeye and Mustang saluted. "We will take care of Dr. Marcoh," she relayed the Fuhrer's message in soft, cultured tones.

Mustang clenched his jaw. Guilt assailed him for betraying the man who had shown him a glimmer of sanity during the war's bloody and senseless chaos.

Marcoh began walking forward, resigned to his fate. "No," Ed cried.

Marcoh paused next to the brothers. "Edward Elric, I cannot go to your hometown," he said stiffly, not looking down at the bewildered teenager or the questioning eyes of his brother. Rain trickled off the ends of his salt and pepper hair and his eyelashes. "The names of the doctors were Rockbell."

Ed's eyes widened and he hunched over, letting the rain pelt him. Mustang clenched his jaw tighter against the new wave of guilt and shame that swept over him. Marcoh resumed walking and got into the car, followed by the secretary. "Do not worry, we will not harm him," she said before she also stepped in and closed the door.

Al watched him go. "Niisan, I thought I just heard Mom's voice."

Ed didn't look up from his hunched over position. "Idiot, you're probably just hearing things since you almost died," he mumbled.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews are much appreciated! This is one of my favorite episodes. I had the most fun writing the scene with Roy and Riza in the rain. 


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